Twisted
by teamjacob0729
Summary: Jacob and his wife have just returned from vacation when tragedy strikes. Things change in an unexpected way. A BxJ HEA, as promised. Though I cannot promise that it won't be sad along the way.
1. The Ride Back Home

Chapter 1

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

_Okay, if you read Hearts and Soul, I promised a BxJ HEA, so this is for you guys. This is going to be very similar and this is originally what I set out to write before the story shifted dramatically and ran on its own. It was kind of crazy actually._

Jacob smiled as he pulled on the highway to head back toward La Push. He, his wife and kids were returning after a week-long vacation to Mt. Hood in Oregon. They had had a great time camping as a family and he was relaxed.

He wasn't overly excited about a long drive with 2 young kids in the car. However, they had a built in DVD player for each of the kids and headphones so they didn't have to hear the Frozen soundtrack or Sponge Bob the entire way back either. Jacob leaned forward and turned on his playlist.

Danni reached over and clasped hands with her husband. She had needed a break from her hectic life as a teacher. She spent a ton of hours at school preparing lessons, reports and meeting with parents. It was both rewarding and exhausting. Spring Break could not have come sooner. A vacation was the perfect time to recharge. The only sad thing about it was heading back home and the vacation ending.

Staring out the window, watching the scenery pass them by, Danni was thinking about her upcoming 30th birthday. Time seemed to be flying by. Their son, Ryker, would be 7 years old this year and their daughter, Hope, would be 4. She and Jacob had celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary and it seemed like it had just happened yesterday.

"Watchya thinking about so hard over there?" Jacob asked, as he lightly squeezed his fingers to pull her attention from her daydream.

She turned and looked at his handsome face. It had only gotten better with age. His light scruff from a week without shaving was ruggedly sexy and his bright smile always made her smile with him. He raised his eyebrows at her indicating that she still hadn't answered his question. Danni giggled and looked out the passenger window to try to keep a straight face as she answered.

"Well, I was thinking about this really sexy man I know. I'd love if he decided to ravage me later. Only when my husband wasn't looking, of course," Danni slid her eyes toward Jacob and immediately burst into laughter.

"Hmm. Well, I was going to go check on the store when we got back, but I guess I'll have to stay home now to beat this guy's ass," he continued with the joke.

"I'm not sure anyone could beat him up. He's a big strong alpha male. Six foot four, all tight muscles. You might get hurt," she snickered.

"He does sound like a big guy. But I bet I could take him," he growled lightly.

"Daddy, you are big and strong!" Hope chimed in from the backseat.

"Uncle Paul says he could beat anybody up, so nobody better mess with him," Ryker added, clearly admiring his uncle.

Danni and Jacob burst into laughter at this comment. Paul was still as arrogant as ever. Although, he'd settled down over the years and he and Jacob were glad to have each other as family.

"Uncle Paul will learn to watch what he says one of these days, I think," Jacob responded. "But, I know for a fact, that I _can_ take Uncle Paul."

"Mommy, can you start the movies, please?" Hope asked with politeness they both prayed would last forever.

Danni grabbed the two small remotes and started both movies. She chuckled as she watched the kids slip on their headphones and become engrossed in their shows. After a week in the wilderness, they deserved a little time to veg out. Hope was already humming songs that she knew were coming up, while Ryker was sitting calmly.

Reaching into her bag, Danni pulled out her tablet to start reading a novel she had wanted to read since summer vacation. She didn't really have time to read during vacation as they kept busy all day long. She'd had tremendous fun with the family, but now that they were in the car for hours on end, she could enjoy a little sappy romance time.

"Hey, you're forgetting something," Jacob said as he nudged her lightly.

She opened her glasses case and slipped the new readers on her face. The pink frames were fashionable but it was hard to get used to needing glasses. This aging thing wasn't getting any easier.

"Thanks, Jake," she said. It wasn't long before she was lost in her story, unaware of her surroundings. The book was a great one and she wished she could have read it sooner.

"Hello?" a hand waved in front of her face. She looked over to Jacob.

"What?" she asked.

"I've been saying your name over and over. Can you hear me? You're so engrossed in that book, you can't hear a word I'm saying," he said, without menace. [sidebar-true story, lol]

"I'm sorry! It's a good book. What's up?" she questioned, putting the tablet in her lap and giving Jacob her full attention.

"Hope's movie was over and she wanted you to put in a new one. I was wondering when and where you wanted to stop for lunch," he answered, and then smiled at her.

Danni reached into the bag right behind her seat and grabbed the DVD case. She unzipped it and asked her daughter what was next.

"Princess Sophia!" she cheered. Danni flipped through the sleeves and found the requested DVD. She replaced the movie and got it started for her daughter.

"The great thing about them watching so little TV is that when they can they love it," Jacob chortled.

"True, but they can entertain themselves too. They both like to draw and look at books, so they should be okay as long as we stop soon and stretch our legs," Danni said as she swiped her tablet back open to get back to her story.

She looked at Jacob and apologized. "Sorry, you know how it is once I go back to school though. I won't have time for reading stuff I want."

"I know. I just think it's funny how lost you can get in a story," Jacob turned his music up a little bit so he could enjoy something as well.

"Let's stop at a park or something on the other side of Portland," Danni suggested. "That way the kids can get out and run around before we get back in the car."

"Sounds good," Jacob said, as he began to thump his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song.

Danni smiled as she went back to her story. It was just getting to the good part, of course.


	2. A New Customer

Chapter 2

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

As the family pulled into the driveway of their home, Jacob sighed with relief. The first ¾ of the ride had been quiet and relaxing. The last two hours had been hell on wheels, literally. Hope was tired of riding in the car, so she started asking Ryker thousands of questions. They ranged from simple things like, "Can I have a drink?" to "why are you blinking?" Ryker quickly tired of the annoying game and started hollering at his sister. Danni started getting on the kids and finally 10 minutes ago they both fell asleep.

He shifted the Pathfinder into park and turned off the ignition. Glancing over he realized that Danni had also dozed off. Carefully, he carried each of the kids into the house and placed them on the couch to finish their nap. It was not quite bedtime and he knew to let sleeping dogs lie. Last, he pulled Danni from her seat and raised her up to his face, where he placed light kisses on her cheek. A smile broke out on her face and she reached out to wrap her arms around Jacob's neck.

"Put me down so I can help unload the truck," she answered through her sleepy yawn. Jacob put her down but placed a kiss on her lips before turning to unload their bags. Vacations were fun but the returning home and cleaning up really sucked.

They hefted all of the bags into the house and garage. Danni sorted out all of the dirty laundry and groceries, while Jacob laid the tent out on the garage floor to dry out before putting it back into storage.

At bedtime, the kids were still sacked out on the couch, so Jacob and Danni worked together to get them both into pajamas and into bed.

"Want to take a shower with a hot, sexy guy?" Jacob asked suggestively.

"Mmm. Yes, I do. Have you seen one?" Danni answered playfully.

"Oh, that's it! I'm gonna get you now!" Danni turned and ran from Jacob, squealing lightly. They filled the bathroom with light laughter as they both stripped of their dirty clothes. Jacob turned the shower on and stepped into the water. Danni joined him after the temperature was just right.

While Danni had her head tilted back, her hands running through her hair to get it all wet, Jacob stepped closer and lightly touched the tips of her perky nipples. She jerked her arms down involuntarily at the surprise and laughed.

"Turn around," he said, huskily. Danni stood while Jacob carefully washed her hair, making sure to massage her scalp as well. It was so relaxing, Danni wobbled a little. "Careful."

Jacob turned her body back toward the water and helped her to rinse all of the shampoo out. When she stepped out of the water to put conditioner in her hair, Jacob stepped in to get himself washed. Danni grabbed the sponge and squirted some body wash onto it, then began giving Jacob's body a thorough cleaning.

Afterward, they stood in the bathroom and dried each other's bodies with the soft towels. Jacob pulled her robe from the back of the door and wrapped it around her body before giving her a kiss from the bottom of his heart. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest and was thankful after all of these years together, he could still get her worked up with just a kiss.

"Let's go to bed," he whispered. They laid together in bed and Jacob showed his wife what a wonderful husband he could be. Then he joked with her, "Aren't you glad you didn't invite that guy over after all?"

"I love you, Jake," she leaned up to kiss him. The entire family slept peacefully that night in their comfortable beds, happy to be home.

The next morning, Jacob announced that after breakfast he was going in to check on the store. He and Paul had opened a furniture store together. Although, they did well, it was a lot of work. They bought furniture from local craftsmen, but made some of it also. Jacob hadn't taken a vacation in years, but Paul had assured him everything was fine. Now that he was back, he wanted to stop in and check everything out for himself.

It must have been the leftover alpha in him, but he still felt the need to assess things for himself even if he delegated out jobs. It used to annoy the hell out of Paul, but he finally just accepted that was how Jacob was built. He was never a jerk about things, he only needed to oversee things.

As Jacob drove to the store, his mind raced back to the past. He hadn't phased in years, there hadn't been a need. The Cullen's had been living in Forks but once the new pack began phasing, Carlisle suspected their presence had triggered it and packed his family up and moved out of town. Unfortunately, the gene had been jumpstarted, and Jacob, Sam, Paul, Embry, Jared and Quil had already all phased. They ran patrol for a couple of years only running across old scents and never running into any Cold Ones.

Sam, Jared and Quil had all imprinted and Jacob hoped that by giving up the wolf, he would never imprint. Before he and Danni married, he told her the entire truth. He didn't know if he would imprint, but he told her that he'd do everything in his power to stop it. She told him that she trusted him and she had faith in their love.

The truck pulled smoothly into Jacob's reserved parking space at the back of the store. He took his keys out and entered through the back door. He could hear Paul talking to some of the employees about how he wanted things arranged on the sales floor and being careful not to "scratch shit up." Jacob shook his head. Paul never did learn how to stop cussing.

"Hey, dude," he said, as he walked up behind his brother-in-law.

"Hey, bro! Welcome back!" Paul smiled, as he reached out and slapped Jacob on the back. "How'd the trip go? You all have fun?"

"Like Danni didn't text Rachel the entire time we were gone, so I know you know how it went," he chuckled.

"Well, what did you want me to say? Did you have fun after you slipped and fell on your ass? By the way, that was a great picture. One for the history books," Paul had waited 10 seconds longer than Jacob figured he would to make fun of him.

"Shut up. I was trying to keep Hope from falling in. Better me than her," Jacob retorted.

"Yeah, whatever excuse you got. The wolf has clearly left your body without looking back, Grace!" Paul teased.

"Don't worry, Paul. We both know I could take you, human or not," Jacob's eyes danced as he remembered the time he caught Rachel and Paul making out, and the fight that ensued after Jacob yelled at him for kissing his sister.

"I hear ya. So anyway, hate to change the subject and all, but I got a phone call about some new furniture I thought you'd want to check out," Paul said, as he walked over to his desk and grabbed a post it off the computer screen to hand to Jacob.

Jacob glanced at the Forks address and figured he'd give the guy a call and go see it after lunch. It was his last day with Danni before she headed back to school and he didn't want to spend the whole day working.

"Rachel said you could drop the kids off to play if you wanted," Paul called out as Jacob headed back to his office. He looked through the sales reports left on his desk. They weren't turning a huge profit, but they were making enough to support their employees and their families. Last, he looked through the custom orders and saw that he and Paul were going to work on a china cabinet and some bookcases for a client.

"Heading out," Jacob said, as he walked with the file in his hand.

Danni and the kids were waiting when he pulled into the drive, ready to head out. They opened the doors and climbed in the truck. Danni buckled Hope into her car seat, while Ryker buckled in to his booster seat.

"I can't wait to go see Aunt Rachel!" Hope cheered.

As they drove into Rachel and Paul's driveway, his sister walked out onto the porch and waved, holding her young son in her arms. She shifted him onto one hip and waved to her brother's vehicle.

They parked and unloaded the kids. Inside, they sat down and talked for a bit about their vacation with Rachel, the kids playing in Will's room.

"Thanks so much for taking the kids for a bit," Jacob said. "We're going to stop buy a customer's house in Forks and then get some lunch. We won't be out too long."

"No worries. Will takes a nap after lunch, so the kids and I will do something quiet til you get back," she smiled.

"All right. See you later, Rach," Danni said, as they walked out the door.

"What are we going to look at?" she asked Jacob as she climbed into the front seat.

"Some guy has some antique furniture he wants to sell," Jacob shrugged. There was a lot of business for selling antiques, but he didn't buy fixer uppers. He had enough work with custom furniture and running the store. He only bought stuff that was in condition to sell. They told people this when they called, but their standards often varied from his.

They enjoyed each other's company in silence, the occasional interruption from the GPS giving directions to the address Jacob had typed in.

A white two story house sat on the road and Jacob glanced at the house to make sure the house address matched. He didn't want to get out at the wrong house. The curtains slipped back over the window, Jacob saw, but he couldn't see anyone looking out the white lace.

Danni opened her door and headed out to the gravel driveway. She turned around to look for Jacob. He stepped up beside her and led the way to the door. He rang the bell and waited for someone to answer.

An older gentleman, in a Forks Police uniform answered the door. He had black hair and matching moustache. When Jacob glanced at his eyes, he thought the man looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in years. He took a deep breath of a scent coming out of the house. It caught him off guard, but it was like a nice, light floral perfume. Oddly, he felt his wolf stir a little for the first time in nearly 10 years. It was strange, but he shrugged it off and got down to business.

"Hi, I'm Jacob Black, and this is my wife, Danni. We're here to check out the furniture," Jacob reached out to shake the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Charlie Swan. Please come in. I'll show you what I called about," Charlie backed into the house, opening the door wider for the couple to enter.

Jacob glanced around the room and noted the mixed arrangement of furniture. Some of it was crappy and falling apart, but there were some nice pieces mixed in as well. They followed Charlie up the stairs to the master bedroom. He showed them a bedroom suite. Jacob asked if he could open the drawers and look at it. Charlie just nodded his silent assent.

"This is beautiful furniture, Charlie. You're very lucky to have it," Jacob rubbed his neck. "I'm going to be honest when I say, I don't think you should sell it. It's very valuable."

"I thank you for your honesty, Jacob. Unfortunately, I've got to let this go. I need the money to cover hospital bills for my daughter. This furniture has been in my family for a long time, but I think they'd understand, I need to sell it," Charlie answered, his weariness evident.

"I don't have the kind of cash it would take to buy this from you. However, I know a lot of people in the business, and I could help you sell it for a small commission," Jacob offered. Overall, he was glad this guy had called him. He didn't think there was any way the man had any idea of the tremendous value and someone of lesser character would've taken advantage of someone in such a bind.

"Whatever you can do. I've exhausted my insurance and my girl needs to be taken care of," he sniffled as he wiped his nose on the back of his arm.

Danni walked over tentatively and wrapped her arms around the man. "I'm sorry about your daughter."

He lightly hugged her back, before taking a step back and holding his hand out to Jacob. They shook on the agreement and Jacob went out to the truck to grab a camera to take quality photographs to list the furniture for sale. Once it sold, he and Paul would come back to pack it up.

Once he finished with the photographs, he met Danni and Charlie downstairs in the kitchen. He smiled at his wife, who had made herself completely at home in this man's kitchen and was pouring two mugs of coffee. She glanced up at him and smiled. She was a nurturer, she couldn't help it.

They sat down at the table while the two drank their coffee. Charlie opened up a little about his daughter who had been in the hospital for a couple of months and the doctors weren't sure if she was going to survive. He said his ex-wife had taken off years ago, and had no idea of their daughter's plight. It really was a sad story.

Jacob promised he would get working on the furniture sale that night and he was sure that someone would buy it quickly.

As they walked out the front door, Danni pointed out a picture of a pretty young woman, with long brown hair, curled gently around her face. She was smiling widely with her arm wrapped around her father, wrapped in a dark green graduation gown. It was shocking how much older Charlie looked in the present compared to the photograph on the table. Danni raised her eyebrows at Jacob, conveying her shock in the change of the man. Jacob felt that stirring again, and ignored it as he stepped out on the front stoop.

After they promised to be in touch, they drove the short distance to the diner in Forks to have lunch before heading back to pick the kids up. Lunch was quick and they talked about the furniture pieces. Jacob said he'd have to call some people he knew from New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to sell it for top dollar. Ideally, for Charlie, there'd be a bidding war over the valuable pieces of early American furniture. Jacob paid for their food and they headed back to the truck to pick up their children.


	3. Sold!

Chapter 3

Rated M.

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Thanks for checking out my story. You have no idea how cheery it makes me when I see the number of views and visitors. I know I said this was supposed to be how Hearts and Soul went, but well, all I can say is I promise a bxj happily ever after. These stories really have a mind of their own. If I waited until they were complete to publish…well that wouldn't be fun at all.

Thank you for constructive criticism or questions. However, I am living human being with feelings. If you don't really like this story, you're not obligated to read it. So thanks for not leaving rude responses. My characters might curse in the story, but I'm not cursing at you. It's quite a difference.

Jacob and his family stayed for dinner with his sister and brother-in-law that night. They filled each other in on their vacation to Mt. Hood. Rachel and Danni got a real kick out of going over every minute detail of Jacob falling in the water.

He groaned and said, "Come on! You know I'm plenty steady on my feet. I was trying to keep Hope from falling in. Will you lay off already?"

Their only response was an evil sounding laugh.

"Hey, Paul. Let's step outside and talk about that furniture Danni and I saw today," Jacob suggested, standing from his spot at the kitchen table. The wives stood and began cleaning up, with the kids clearing the table.

Paul followed Jacob outside, not really questioning his need for privacy. The business wasn't a secret in either house, but sometimes it was hard to concentrate with all of the noise going on around them.

"Has your wolf stirred since you stopped phasing?" Jacob asked point blank as soon as they were both seated on the back porch.

"What?" was Paul's brilliant response. After he closed his jaw, he shook his head side-to-side. "No. Not ever. Wait. Why? What happened?" After his brain began processing ideas again, Paul fired off the questions rapidly.

"Nothing happened. Would you calm down, already? It's just that earlier, at that customer's house, I felt a twinge or a stirring. It was odd, but I blew it off at the time. Now that I'm gone I can't stop thinking about it and what it means."

"Maybe you should talk to your dad or Old Quil about it. I'm sure they'd know," Paul suggested.

"I don't know. I don't want to worry anybody. If it happens again, I'll talk to somebody," Jacob said. Then he launched into the furniture he saw and what he planned to do with it. There was no way Charlie Swan could get what it was worth by selling it at their shop. Their most expensive bedroom set was a few thousand dollars and his early American set was well over a hundred grand to the right buyer. Since they would get a 15% commission, it was well worth their time. Plus, Jacob really wanted to help Charlie out. He felt sorry that the guy was having to sell family heirlooms to pay doctor and hospital bills.

That night at home, Danni put the kids to bed and Jacob sat in his home office uploading the digital pictures of the furniture and making phone calls to his contacts around the country. It was late for Washington time, so he left voicemails with follow up emails. He was hoping by morning, he'd have the highest bidder.

He'd felt like he'd only been working a little while, when Danni came in wrapped in her robe and slippers. She padded up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey, you. When you going to finish that up and come lay with me? You know I can't sleep without you next to me," she said as she started planting kisses on his neck.

It was an invitation he couldn't refuse, so he powered everything off and stood from the chair. He turned around and hoisted his wife off the floor and carried her to their bedroom. Their spring break was officially over.

Monday morning, Jacob helped Danni get the kids ready to leave for school. Ryker went with Danni to the elementary school on the res and Hope was going with Will to preschool. Rachel offered to pick her up this morning to save Jacob some time.

After everyone had gotten their hugs and kisses for the day, Jacob retreated to his office, mug of coffee in hand, as he opened his computer. His jaw dropped. He couldn't believe the tremendous amount of responses he'd gotten. He knew the furniture was great stuff, but he really was shocked.

Picking up the phone, Jacob called his contact in Chicago. His client had offered $250,000 in certified funds. Jacob was wary of such an offer, but that offer was $100,000 over the others.

"Lacey, hi, this is Jacob Black. I got your email about the furniture," he greeted her.

"Jacob, hi!" she greeted in her too sweet voice. "How are you doing? It's so great to hear from you. How's your store going? You guys have the greatest stuff. But seriously, how did you land this set?"

"A guy that lives in town needs the cash for his daughter's hospital bills. It's a sad story," Jacob answered her, ignoring her plethora of questions.

"I have this great couple that I've worked with for years. They called me yesterday and said they were dying for some early American furniture to decorate their daughter and son-in-law's new house. They just got married and they want to get them a great set to have forever. I emailed them your pictures and they made an offer. Trust me they are good for the money. They've bought a lot of quality pieces over the years."

"That's awesome, Lacey. Send me the info and we'll get the shipper set up today, after the funds are clear. Are you sure they don't want to come see it first?" he asked, hesitantly.

"No, they said they love it and want it. They said the pictures were enough to tell them it was what they wanted. Also, you're going to love this. You don't have to worry about the shipping. They're going to arrange it all. You just have to meet the movers at your client's house," Lacey said.

"Wow. That is an awesome deal," Jacob said. He and Lacey discussed arrangement of the wire transfer and information about the movers and the pick-up for one day this week.

Jacob called Charlie as soon as he thought was appropriate. He might like to get up at sunrise, but not everybody did.

"This is Chief Swan," was the answer Jacob got when the phone line was picked up.

"Hi, Charlie. This is Jacob Black, from the furniture store," he started.

"Jacob, hey. What's going on?" Charlie asked. Jacob could hear the sound of the car and windshield wipers running in the background.

"Charlie, are you driving right now?" Jacob questioned.

"Yes, why? Is everything okay, Jacob?" Charlie sounded worried.

"Everything is great, but I think you're going to want to pull over. I have some good news and I don't want you distracted while you're driving," Jacob chuckled.

"Okay. I'm parked now. Go ahead."

"Well, I put your information out there late last night and this morning, I had offers from all of the country. Your furniture sold. The money will get wired today and I'll give you your share. Are you ready for the amount?" Jacob asked, building the excitement.

"Go for it, I'm not up for suspense," Charlie said.

"$250,000," was Jacob's reply.

"I'm sorry. I think you broke up or something, because I could have sworn you just said $250,000, Jacob," Charlie said incredulously.

"No, Charlie, you heard me right. On top of that, the buyers are paying for shipping and moving. The only thing is you have to have it all ready to go by Wednesday."

"Jacob, I don't know how to thank you," Charlie sniffed. "I thought I might get $5-$6,000 out of it. This is far beyond my wildest dreams. It's really going to help."

"Listen, here's another thing. Paul and I talked. We're going to cut our commission back. We really want you to be able to take care of your daughter. There's no way we could live with taking $37,000 away from you."

More crying could be heard on the other end of the line, but no words were spoken for a few minutes.

"I don't know how to thank you, Jacob," Charlie said, sniffling and taking a loud, deep breath.

"You take care of your daughter and that'll be enough for me."

It was two days later that Jacob found himself at Charlie's house waiting for the arrival of the movers for Charlie's furniture. He arrived early to make sure everything was out of the way to make it a smooth transition. He didn't want his client's other furniture getting damaged by careless movers.

If Jacob thought some teenage punks were going to show up, he was sorely disappointed. The crew that showed up was the most professional Jacob had ever worked with. They were quick, courteous and really thorough.

After the pieces had been loaded and secured in the moving truck, the driver walked up with a clipboard. Jacob reviewed the shipping information and verified the pieces on the list. Everything checked out and he signed at the bottom of the form. The driver lifted the paper off the clipboard to give Jacob a copy and he glanced at the form underneath. His breath caught when he saw the name of the purchaser.

What in the hell? Carlisle Cullen.

Why would he buy furniture from him? Why was he doing business related in any way to Forks or La Push? The wolf snarled in his head. He sucked in a deep breath and held it. He forced the wolf back down. There was not a threat here, there was nothing to protect anyone from. They had not done business with him. How could they know he had this furniture for sale? They couldn't possibly know he was in the furniture business and why would they bother keeping up with what he did in his life? Their dealer was Lacey and she would not have disclosed his name.

The driver walked away with a puzzled look on his face, probably wondering what made Jacob suddenly turn into a weirdo.

Jacob turned and went into the house to say good-bye to Charlie. The funds had been transferred from Jacob's business account to Charlie's personal account, minus the $15,000 commission that Charlie insisted on. They tried to take less, but he said anyone else would've swindled him. Charlie reached out to shake Jacob's hand, as he stepped out the front door to return to his truck.

Jacob felt on top of the world after this sale. He'd made a good amount of money for their store and he helped out the Police Chief of Forks. Of course, he hadn't known that's who he was the first time he met him.

In the truck, Jacob searched for a florist in town and set the GPS to head that way. He drove to the Forks Floral Foray and parked his truck. He shook his head at the silly name, but headed in to see what they had in the way of roses for his wife. There would be nothing better than dropping off a beautiful bouquet to her at school. Glancing around the small business, he saw a cooler with sliding doors. Jacob looked at each of the vases on the shelves. Finally, he found the perfect vase-a mix of red, white and pink roses. He slid the door open and pulled the vase out.

Jacob set the vase on the counter and an older woman walked up to ring him up.

"Very pretty arrangement. Must be for someone really special," she smiled, her wrinkled face crinkling.

He grinned at the woman, "my wife."

"She will adore them. That'll be $49.95," she said.

Jacob reached into his wallet and pulled out his credit card. He slid it across the counter to the woman.

He walked out of the store to the passenger door of his truck. He buckled the vase in and closed the door. Then he headed to Danni's school.

As Jacob pulled out onto the highway, the vase started to tip over. Jacob reached over to stop it and took his eyes off the road. He hit a slick spot and started sliding. He sat up and held onto the steering wheel with both hands trying to get the vehicle under control. Just as it straightened back out, he looked up to see a semi-truck heading right at him. There was nothing he could do to stop it.

The next thing Jacob remembered was waking up in a hospital bed in a lot of pain, unable to move. He looked around and saw his dad sitting quietly in the corner, with a book in his lap. He grunted to get his attention. For some reason, he was unable to talk. Rapid beeping could be heard on the machines around him, but he still couldn't move his body.

"Jake? Jake. Don't move. You have a breathing tube in. You have to relax," Billy soothed his son. "It's okay. Hang on, let me get a nurse for you."

But Billy didn't have to move, a nurse alerted by her computers outside to the increased heart rate came dashing in.

"You have to calm down, Mr. Black. Relax and let it breath for you. We'll get it out really soon. I have to get a respiratory therapist up here first to remove it," she coaxed him back into a relaxed position against the bed. Then she pulled a syringe from his pocket and pushed the fluid into Jacob's IV.

"I'm giving you pain medication. That's all. We'll get the breathing tube out now that you're awake," she said, as he drifted off from the medicine.

Billy sat in the corner in his wheelchair, texting various friends and family telling them the good news. Danni was home with the kids, but Rachel was going to pick them up, so Danni could come to the hospital.

Eventually the room was hopping with various doctors and therapists, checking every reflex, oxygen and heart rate levels, Jacob's ability to speak and make sense of things.

When Danni walked into the room, she went right to her husband, planting a big kiss on his lips. His eyes were tired but danced at her face.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she scolded him. "I can't take it. You know how I can't sleep without you and it's been a week! A week, Jake! Oh, I love you so much!"

"Mrs. Black, we really need your husband calm," a nurse reminded her.

She put her head down and nodded in understanding. She reached out and grasped his hand with hers.

"Glad you're okay, baby," she responded quietly.


	4. Make New Friends

Chapter 4

**Rated M.**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Thanks for reading. Welcome, new readers.**

Later that night after all of the craziness settled down and Jacob was sleeping peacefully, breathing on his own, and having spent what seemed like hours complaining, Danni went home. Relief spread through her that Jacob was awake. The doctors assured her that he would be okay and that sometimes patients took a while to awake after a trauma. When she was there, it kind of seemed to her that the doctors were surprised he was awake and so coherent after only a week.

Even though he'd been a wolf, it had been a long time since he phased at all. He'd once told her the wolf was gone and hadn't been heard from since. It seemed that his genetic make-up saved his life. He was more durable but still breakable. She worried that the accident would have killed an average human being like herself.

Jacob had fractured a number of bones. They had been rebuilt in surgery and put back together with pins and screws. It was pretty gruesome actually, but she would never complain because she was so thankful her husband was alive. Danni shook herself from her thoughts, so she could concentrate on her own driving. The kids couldn't handle another traumatic event.

The accident had taken its toll on Jacob's body and he spent the next few days sleeping mostly, but awake for short periods. Each day, he'd spend a bit longer awake. At first, he'd only stay awake for 10-20 minutes before he'd doze back off, not recalling conversations he had had with his wife and family. Later on, Jacob would stay awake for 45 minutes or so and was remembering more conversations he was having. He was still in a lot of pain, but was breathing and drinking fluids on his own.

It was about 2 weeks later when Jacob awoke after his pain killer induced sleep, and glanced around looking for Danni. She had already left. The clock on the wall read 11:25 pm, and his dad was still sitting vigil in his wheelchair.

"Dad, you need to get home and get some real sleep, you know," Jacob said roughly.

"I know, Jake. I've been worried about you," he sighed.

"Well, I'm worried about you getting a shower. You stink," Jacob chuckled.

"Hmm. Well, you were a teenage boy that lived in my house, I've had to endure your body odor too," he smiled back.

"I need to talk to you, though. Something happened with my wolf. Something that I'm worried about. It's weird because I thought he was gone. Haven't heard a whisper since I decided to stop phasing. I went to a customer's house in Forks and I felt this feeling. Danni showed me a picture of the guy's daughter and I felt really protective of her. She's really sick and he was selling his furniture to pay for her hospital bills. But, get this, when the furniture sold, guess who bought it for twice its value?" Jacob questioned his father.

Billy simply shook his head side to side. Who did they know that had the kind of money to over pay for furniture?

"Carlisle Cullen," Jake answered.

"What? You're kidding me," Billy responded, leaning forward in his chair, eyes widening.

"The thing is, when I saw his name, my wolf snarled in my head. I haven't had to even think about vampires in years and I had to swallow the wolf down. The delivery guy must have thought I was a complete whack job," Jake said, shaking his head, recalling his reaction to the name.

"What do you think it means, Jake?" Billy wondered. "Who was the customer?"

"He's the police chief for Forks, Charlie Swan," Jacob told him. "I'm not sure what it means. Maybe my wolf sensed that vampires had been at their house. You know how they liked to get involved in the community." Jacob shook his head in irritation. If they had stayed in the shadows like they should and stop pretending to be human, his whole life might've been different. "I don't like that after all of this time, those leeches have popped back up."

"Don't let it worry you, Jake. You need to focus on getting better. I'll talk to the council and see what they think," Billy said, effectively ending the conversation.

Jacob hated being stuck in bed. His leg was pretty nasty looking with metal sticking out of them, holding everything in place. He knew he was lucky to be alive at all, but it still sucked. He tried getting comfortable, but it was hard when you were intentionally immobilized. His chest was sore and wrapped tightly. Billy reached over and pressed the button on the pump connected to Jacob's IV. He smiled at his son.

"You can give yourself pain meds now, you know. It'll only let you have it every two hours, but when you feel the pain come on, press that and it'll give it to you."

The medication started kicking in fast and Jacob felt the woozy feeling take over. It wasn't long before he was sleeping again. The pain having subsided and his body needing the rest to heal.

Billy picked up his cell phone and called a few of the council members to discuss what Jacob had shared with him. It was very unusual that the wolf was stirring and Billy was worried about it. He'd reassured Jacob it was nothing but he was bullshitting his son because of his current state. This could throw all of their lives into a tailspin. Especially, Danni and the kids.

After leaving a couple of messages and speaking with Old Quil, Billy did not feel any better about the situation. They were unsure if there was a vampire in the area or not. It didn't sit well to let things "work themselves out." So Old Quil promised he'd contact the other elders and they'd look through the journals left by previous wolves. It really was difficult with the limited information they had about the shape shifters. This pack had phased unexpectedly and with little fanfare afterward. They had all easily stopped phasing and none of them had discussed having the urge again.

Sitting in his chair, Billy stared at his beloved son. He was proud of what he'd accomplished. Of course, every parent wished more for their child than they had for themselves. Yet, Jacob was an artist, a caring husband and father, and a sharp business man. The supernatural world had the power to take all of that and tear it to shreds. Billy prayed that things would work out for the best.

He wheeled himself out of the room and waited out front for someone to pick him up. Sleeping in his own bed, getting a shower, and fresh clothes sounded like a good plan. As Billy stared out into the parking lot, he saw a uniformed officer walk up to the double doors.

"Good evening," Billy greeted, as the man rushed by.

"Hey," the man responded as he rushed in the doors.

An hour later, Billy sat annoyed that no one had arrived for him. He'd just left another voicemail for Rachel and Paul. He was glad there wasn't news about Jacob since no one could be bothered to answer the phone. They knew he was there and reliant on their help for transportation. It was far too late to call anyone else.

The man that had hurried in earlier came walking back out. He looked disheveled and exhausted.

"Are you okay, Officer?" Billy asked. Inside, he knew that no one that was at the hospital was really okay.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Thanks for asking," the man sat down on the bench near Billy. "My daughter is here. She had a bit of a tantrum tonight, so I came to see her. I was working and she's been here for far too long. She's over it and ready to go home," he huffed.

"I'm sorry to hear that. My son was brought in after a bad car accident," Billy said.

"Is your son, Jacob Black?" the officer asked. "I was working that accident, and I had met him a few weeks before."

"Yes, my son is Jacob. Are you a customer of his?" Billy was starting to connect the dots. "Jacob was telling me he did some business with the Police Chief in Forks."

"I'm Charlie Swan. Your son is a great businessman, and extremely honest. I'm grateful for how he was able to help us out," Charlie said, as he reached out a hand to shake Billy's.

"It's good to meet you. He is a fine young man. I'm really proud of how well he's doing with his business," Billy smiled.

"How's he doing? He was in rough shape after that accident. The truck driver was okay, but he was banged up," Charlie turned toward Billy to give him his attention.

"He's alright. He is getting better. He broke a few ribs and shattered his right leg. They have it immobilized and it's got metal sticking out of it. He's going to have a painful route of physical therapy before he's back on his feet," Billy sighed, feeling bad that his son was having to face this. He was a busy young man and he took pride in the business that he and Paul ran together. He didn't want to leave the burden on Paul. However, there was nothing that could be done about it.

"My daughter will be starting physical therapy as well. She had a really bad fall a couple of months back," Charlie shook his head. "That girl could trip and hurt herself on flat level ground. She fell down some stairs while she was out with some friends."

"That doesn't really sound like something that would lay you up for a couple of months," Billy wondered aloud.

"It was pretty odd, I'll admit. But, the stairwell and broken glass all show evidence that she fell," Charlie answered.

Billy kept his thoughts to himself. He was trying to figure out how the Cullens were involved in all of this, and tripping down the stairs didn't add up in his mind.

"Well, Chief Swan, I'm really glad she's alright and throwing tantrums. I bet her friends are here for her every day to make her feel better," Billy stated, fishing for information.

"Hmm, you'd think so, wouldn't you? After the accident, I haven't seen or heard from them. Bella met them while she was away at college. She'd been living in the Northeast and worked for a publishing house. When she was stable enough to be brought back here, I had her transferred to Forks so I could be nearby," Charlie mused.

Billy glanced down at his phone, checking to see if he had missed a call or text from Paul and Rachel. There was nothing.

"Are you waiting for someone to pick you up?" Charlie asked.

"My daughter or son-in-law were supposed to come, but I can't get a hold of them," Billy grumbled.

"Can I give you a ride? Do you live close by?" Charlie offered.

"Well, actually, I live on the res," Billy said.

"That's okay. I've got nothing waiting for me besides an empty house," Charlie said, as he stood and gestured toward his squad car.

"I'd really appreciate it," Billy nodded.

The two worked together to get Billy into the front seat of the car and he told Charlie how to fold the chair up so he could get it into the trunk. They rode in silence to Billy's house, except for the directions he gave to the other man. It wasn't uncomfortable, it was late and both men were weary from their children's recent health issues.

After Billy got situated in his chair on the driveway, he looked at Charlie's tired face. "Can I make you a cup of coffee for the ride home?"

"That's a nice offer, but I'll be okay. I'm used to these crazy cop hours," he waved as he got behind the steering wheel. The squad car backed out of the drive and pulled back out onto the road.

The front door was locked, so Billy fished his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He got in and flipped the hallway light switch so he could see where he was going. A thud and yelp made him jerk his eyes toward the living room. Paul stood and rubbed his eyes.

"Dang, you scared the crap out of me, Billy," Paul said, sleep evident in his voice.

"Well, since no one could bother to answer the phone around here, I got a ride home," Billy snapped.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Billy. My cell phone died and the charger is at home. I figured you'd call the house phone and it would wake me up," Paul said, feeling ashamed he'd let his father-in-law down.

"No big deal, Paul. Go on home to Rachel. I'm fine now," Billy said, more calmly.

"I can help you out if you need it. How was Jake when you left?" Paul asked.

"He was grouchy, but fine. He's improving slowly," he answered. "Of course, it isn't on his schedule, so I'm sure you know how that goes." Billy raised his eyebrows to Paul with a conspiratorial smile on his face. Paul smiled in return. Yes, they both knew how Jake felt when things didn't go to his plan.

"Glad I don't have to be there to deal with him," Paul replied honestly. "I'll lock up on my way out. You sure you don't need anything?"

"Good night, Paul," the older man responded, already heading toward his bathroom. He could transfer himself to the shower chair and get cleaned up.

Billy slept well that night, even though his mind had been running in circles when he first lay down.

Charlie's daughter had known the Cullen's somehow, he was sure of it. What did that have to do with Jake? Did she know what they were? He couldn't imagine that they would share their secret with anyone, it was too dangerous. Yet, they chose to mingle with humans every day. Billy hadn't thought to ask Charlie how old his daughter was, but they seemed pretty close in age, so he guessed Bella was close to the ages of his children. She had to be in her late twenties to early thirties.

Jacob had barely been 20 when the vampires left town. It was odd that they were friendly with someone from this town.

Eventually, Billy was able to shake the thoughts and get to sleep. He awoke the next day feeling refreshed, but no less concerned about the vampires and his family.

The phone rang from the kitchen and he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Billy. It's Danni. Want to go back to see Jake with me?" she offered.

"No, darling. I'm going to hang around the house for a bit and rest up. You go spend some time alone with him. Maybe you can soften his grumpy side," Billy smiled.

Jacob could give it, but so could Danni. She didn't tolerate his crap and he loved her for it. Jacob and Billy had always gotten along nicely, so it was hard for Billy to deal with Jake when he was being crabby and unreasonable. At least Jacob would heal one day and have the use of his legs again.

He knew his son would feel ashamed for the way he'd been acting once he was home and feeling more comfortable. Billy didn't take personal offense to the whining. He was bound to a wheelchair due to his own laziness in taking care of his health. He had no one to blame but himself for his current wheelchair bound situation.

After talking with Danni, Billy made himself a bowl of cereal and fruit for breakfast. He sat at the kitchen table staring out the window lost in his thoughts trying to solve all of his families problems, real or imagined.


	5. That Hurts!

Chapter 5

Rated M, sorry these characters have foul mouths.

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Thanks for reading.

"God damn it! That hurts! Stop it!" Jacob yelled. It was murderously painful to get out of the truck and into the house. Danni was doing her best to help him, but the guy was huge and she was not.

"Jake, come on. I'm trying to help you here, don't fight me," Danni said, trying to take deep breaths and remain calm with her pain in the neck husband.

"I want to get in the house and lay down. I'm still really sore," he replied, with a grunt as he worked himself into the front door.

"Next time, you should tell Paul you do want his help. He's much stronger than me and could help you get in the house."

"Next time? There'd better not be a next time," he grouched.

"Jacob Black! Settle down or I'll leave you here alone? You got it?" she snapped back at him.

Jacob sighed loudly. He finally got himself to the couch and propped his leg up. Reaching out, he grabbed Danni and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry, babe. I love you," he said sweetly, and he puckered his lips up for a kiss.

Danni looked at the fish lips he was making at her. He was an adorable, stubborn ass and she couldn't resist giving him a peck.

"Tomorrow, you begin physical therapy so I don't want to hear this crap out of you every single day, Jacob. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mrs. Black," he sassed her.

"I can make a classroom full of children behave, but not one grown man," she grumbled to herself as she walked into the kitchen.

It was a relief that Jacob had been discharged from the hospital. Of course, now she had to worry about his hospital bills and therapy bills. It wasn't close to being over. Technically, Jacob was "at fault" for the accident since his vehicle crossed over the center lane. She hadn't had the heart to discuss that with him yet. She'd leave that one up to Chief Swan.

There was only so much they could do, so she was going to be thankful that he was alive and would recover from his injuries. The furniture store would keep bringing in money. She reached out and put a mug under the coffee machine and pushed the button for coffee. Her foot tapped the floor impatiently while she waited the minute or two for it to brew and pour.

A mug of coffee in each hand, Danni walked into the living room to find that Jacob had already drifted off. She set one on the coffee table and sat in the recliner to rest. The kids were still at school and Rachel was going to pick them up for her. It wasn't often that she took a day off school, so she tried to relax and enjoy the limited amount of time before they got home. They were very excited to see their daddy who they hadn't been able to see since his car accident.

An empty mug sat on the end table beside the chair, as Danni closed her eyes and dozed off. It felt as though she'd just started to snooze when she heard the kids talking outside. Rachel knocked on the front door, before unlocking it and coming in with the kids. Danni jumped up to keep them from jumping on Jacob and accidentally hurting him.

"Hi guys! How was your day?" she asked, squeezing them both in a hug.

"Where's Daddy?" Hope asked, excitedly.

"Where are my son and daughter?" Jacob called out. He sat up a little on the couch so they could see him.

"Daddy!" both kids squealed together. They ran toward him.

Danni called out, "be careful!" right as Jacob scooped both kids into his arms and gave them a long awaited hug.

"I missed you guys so much," Jacob said, with tears in his eyes. He kissed each kid soundly on the cheek and scooched over on the couch. They carefully sat on the edge and checked him over.

"What are those metal things sticking out of your leg for?" Ryker asked with a look of total fascination.

"They are holding the bones in place until they can heal," Jacob answered him.

"That's disgusting!" he said, leaning forward for closer inspection. "I can see the scabs all around it and its got pus, too. Awesome!" Ryker started to reach out to poke it, when Jacob gently grabbed his hand.

"Don't touch, Ry. That would really hurt and I have to keep it clean," Jacob swiped his thumb over his son's knuckles to silently reassure him all was fine.

Hope leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her daddy's neck. She let her body sag against him and laid her head on his shoulder. She didn't say a word, just cuddled up. Jacob kept his arm around her waist.

"How was school today, Ryker?" Jacob asked. He couldn't believe how much of their lives he had missed. It seemed like years, when really it was a few weeks.

"It was okay. In science class though, we got to watch butterflies come out of their chrysalis. It was really cool. I wish I were a butterfly and could change like that!" Ryker smiled, eyes lost in thought about his day at school. "Well, I've got to get my reading done, Daddy. Mommy doesn't like for me to leave it until later." He reached down to grab his book bag before skipping off to his bedroom to read.

Jacob stared pensively out the window. His son's words hit him like an arrow. He knew what it was like to change forms. It was painful and life-changing. Of course, the wolf itself was pretty cool as far as the speed and overnight muscle formation went. However, the whole killing vampire thing, he might not get over having learned about that.

With his arm around Hope's still limp and quiet body, Jacob squirmed down the couch to lay flatter. He pulled Hope's body up so that it was lying next to his. Then he closed his eyes and dozed back off.

Eventually, it was Jacob's stomach that woke him from his nap with all of its growling and grumbling. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Hope was awake and coloring a picture at the coffee table.

"Daddy! You finally woke up," Hope smiled to him. "You were dreaming and talking away. I couldn't sleep anymore. Mommy is cooking dinner. She said to call out if you need her."

"What was I talking about, Hope? Was I saying that I hope Mommy makes enchiladas for dinner? Because my stomach thinks that sounds really yummy right now," Jacob chuckled, while trying to get into a comfortable sitting position.

The living room was quiet for a minute while Hope continued to color her picture. Then she looked at Jacob.

"No, Daddy. You said that vampires are freaky and you hope to never see one again," she said calmly as she continued to work on her picture. "Daddy, what's a vampire?"

Jacob sucked in a breath and felt his heart start racing. 'What the hell?' he wondered.

"Oh, baby. Daddy was watching some scary movie while I was at the hospital this morning. I'm sorry if that scared you," he tried to cover for his sleep talk.

"It's okay, Daddy. I don't know what a vampire is anyway. Mommy said, I'm only allowed to watch TV-G shows," she shrugged.

Later, the family had a first-ever TV dinner in the living room. Jacob couldn't sit comfortably in a kitchen chair and the family didn't want to be away from him on his first meal back home. The kids were giggling and talking at the coffee table, and Jacob &amp; Danni sat on the couch with lap tables. It wasn't Jacob's wish, enchiladas, but it was still good. Danni had precut all of his chicken so he could hold his plate while scooping up his food. One thing that hadn't changed was his ability to suck food down like a vacuum cleaner.

The kids were engrossed in a program on TV, and the adults were sitting on the couch holding hands. They were lost in their own thoughts, consumed by their own worries.

It felt like only a few minutes later that Danni was getting them both in the shower and ready for bed. They were going back to school the next day. Jacob had arranged for Paul to come pick him up and take him to physical therapy the next day. Danni needed to go to work, and for the most part Jacob could take care of his needs. Rachel would only be a phone call away if there was something that couldn't wait.

Hugs and kissed, followed by story-time all happened at the couch instead of in beds that night. There was no way Jacob was up for walking all around. After the kids were tucked in for the night, Danni brought out blankets and sheets to set up makeshift beds in the living room. She rearranged the couch and sofa so that she could at least sleep beside Jacob. It wouldn't be convenient when she had to get up. But it was doable and she missed sleeping by her husband.

Once they were lying down for the night, Danni turned and looked at Jacob. His eyelids were drooping and she knew it wouldn't be long before he was sound asleep. He'd taken his painkillers about 30 minutes beforehand. He wouldn't be able to keep himself awake much longer.

"I'm happy you're home, Jake. I'm so glad you will be okay," she whispered. He turned his head and looked at her. He reached out and ran the back of his fingers down her side.

"I love you more than anything, Danni. You're my whole world. Now lean over here and kiss me good-night," he grinned.

"You big dope," she smiled, but leaned over and shared a deep, longing kiss. He reached up with his right hand and grabbed her left boob. They both laughed. Danni shook her head, while looking down adoringly at him. They both missed being intimate with each other, though it wasn't going to be anytime soon that they were able to do anything either.

Danni laid back on her couch and curled up to go to sleep. She slept soundly until her phone woke her up for Jacob's next painkiller dose. She reached up on the end table and grabbed the water bottle and prescription bottle. Opening the bottle, she shook one out and untwisted the water bottle. Gently she woke Jacob and gave him the meds, then went right back to sleep.

The morning came around and the house was abuzz with chattering and giggling. Thankfully both kids were very good about waking up and getting ready to go. Danni really would have had a hard time if they were grumps in the morning.

They kissed Jacob good-bye before heading out the door to school.

Jacob stood and hobbled into the bathroom with his crutches. There were very few things that could make him feel less of a man at this particular moment in time. He dismissed his negative feelings, and turned the water on at the sink. When it warmed up, he leaned down and splashed his face. He washed and dried his face, then brushed his teeth. Last, he grabbed a wash cloth and wiped as much of his body as he could reach. A nice, long, hot shower sounded really good about now, but he couldn't yet.

"Jake?" Paul called out from the foyer.

"In the bathroom," he answered back. "Almost ready. Just gotta get dressed."

"Holler if you need me," Paul said, as he sat on the couch, turned on the TV, and made himself right at home. Rachel wouldn't let him watch ESPN this early in the morning, saying all that blathering started her day off wrong. He was dying to catch up on some stuff that wasn't bill related or cleaning related.

Jacob carefully pulled a loose fitting t-shirt over his head and looked down at his leg. He wasn't sure how he was going to put on pants by himself. He'd had help getting dressed at the hospital yesterday and while he was there all he wore was a hospital gown. Glancing around the room, he saw a pile of pants on his dresser. Carefully, he walked over there and picked a pair up. Gosh, Danni rocked. She had bought some basketball pants with the snaps up the side for him.

He set himself on the edge of the bed and carefully worked off the sweatpants he was wearing. They had had to cut the right leg off so he could wear them. Unfortunately, he was going to have to go commando because he wasn't going to be able to get boxers over the appliance screwed to his leg.

After he pulled the pant leg off his left leg, he gingerly worked the pants off his right. He pulled all of the snaps open on the new pants, and very slowly pulled the pant leg up his right leg, trying hard not to get caught on anything. Once that was done, he put his left foot into the left pant leg and shoved his leg through. Somehow, he managed to tangle himself up and fall sideways off the bed.

Paul came running at the sound and looked into Jacob's room. Jacob was laying on the floor, holding his leg, clearly in so much pain, he couldn't make one sound.

"Holy shit, dude. I told you to call if you needed help! Are you okay? Let me help you," Paul walked forward and looked at his brother-in-law on the floor. He felt sorry for him because he knew he was in a lot of pain, but he had to try not to laugh as well. This huge man was laying on the floor with his bare ass hanging out of his pants.

"Stop fucking laughing and help me up, shithead," Jacob said, gruffly.

"I am not touching your naked ass, no matter what," Paul cackled.

"Fuck you," Jacob turned to his back and lifted his butt so he could pull the pants up the rest of the way. The pain was excruciating and his ass hat brother-in-law was going to laugh at him.

"I'm sorry. I really am," Paul stepped forward and helped Jacob into a sitting position. "Do you want to sit on the bed first, or stand?"

"Help me stand, then I'll go to the living room," he said, trying to keep his anger under control. It wasn't Paul's fault the slippery pants made him fall over.

The two worked together to get Jacob on his feet and into the living room. Paul opened the bottle of ibuprofen and grabbed a cold water bottle from the refrigerator for Jacob. Twenty minutes later they drove out of the driveway headed toward town so Jacob could see the physical therapist for rehab. His muscles were weak from being stuck in bed, as well as the trauma to his body from the accident.

As they pulled into the newer one story building, Jacob looked around at the few cars that were parked in the parking lot. One that stood out to him was a black Mercedes. He snorted at that, probably going to pay out the nose for therapy that would cost his family thousands while somebody got to drive around a $100K car. He went into the wrong career field for making that kind of money that was for certain.

Paul agreed to stay close by so they could head home as soon as Jacob was ready. The doctor already warned them the therapy would be painful and Jacob should plan to rest afterward. He wanted to be back on his feet again, but he didn't want to go through the pain.

Using the crutches, Jacob held them under his arms and pressed the button to automatically open the doors. He swung himself into the lobby and shuffled his way to the reception desk.

"That really hurts, you know! Why do you keep doing that to me if it hurts?" a woman was screaming from the back. "I don't want to do this if you're going to keep hurting me!"

"Please, we've got to stretch your back out. We aren't trying to hurt you. Your muscles are tight from the months you spent in the hospital," a man tried to settle the woman down.

She could be heard sobbing and said, "Dad, I'm done for today."

Jacob turned to the waiting room and saw a familiar face stand and head toward the side door. It was Charlie Swan.

"Charlie?" Jacob asked.

"Hey, Jacob. How are you doing? You're out of the hospital, I see. When did you start therapy?" he inquired.

"Right now. I got home yesterday. Already fell this morning, so I'm not looking forward to this at all. Especially, if they're going to make me scream like that girl in there," Jacob jerked his thumb toward the wall.

Charlie turned a little red, and said, "Yeah, my daughter has been having a rough time in rehab since she was released from the hospital."

Jacob was rightly embarrassed. "Oh, well. I hope she's feeling better soon."

"Don't worry about it, son. She's been a pill since her accident. I better get going before she really starts yelling."

Since he couldn't easily sit down, Jacob went and leaned against the wall, thumbing through a 2 year old edition of Southern Living magazine.

The door opened and Charlie emerged pushing a wheelchair in front of him. A young woman, with long brown hair, sat uncomfortably in the chair, with her hands in her lap and her head down. Her shoulders shook from her crying.

Jacob froze in place. He could smell her across the room and inside he could feel the wolf stir. The wolf was pleased.

"It was good to see you, Jacob. We might run into you again. Bella comes 5 days a week for rehab," Charlie said.

"More like 5 days a week for torture," the young woman muttered, then looked up under her hair at Jacob. When she saw him, she leaned her head up a bit further and looked directly at his face.

It was then that gravity shifted. All of the ties connecting Jacob to his previous life were severed and he was now tied to her.

As Charlie wheeled her out of the waiting room, Jacob stood frozen to his spot. The only words running through his head right now were, "oh shit."


	6. Therapy

Chapter 6

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

Sorry it's been so long. Work has been hell. This hasn't been proofed like I usually do, so all mistakes are mine. I accept responsibility. ;)

When Jacob walked out of the rehab center, Paul rushed to his side. His face was pale and he looked like he was going to puke everywhere.

"Dude, are you okay? Did they torture you in there or what?" Paul asked, as he helped Jacob get into the passenger side of his car.

Jacob didn't answer or even acknowledge that his brother-in-law had spoken. Paul waved his hand in front of Jacob's face and he didn't even blink. Paul shrugged it off and figured he was in a lot of pain from therapy. He jogged around the front of the car and got in.

As they drove back home, Paul took the opportunity to swing by the diner for some lunch. He knew Jacob loved a good cheeseburger &amp; fries and he wanted to help his friend out. After he parked, he looked at Jacob and asked if he wanted the usual. Jacob still hadn't spoken.

"Jake, did you want anything from the diner or not?" When he didn't get a response, he gave Jacob a light tap on the arm. Finally, Jacob turned and looked at him.

The look in Jacob's eyes freaked Paul out. He was glazed over and Jacob looked terrified. Paul decided he better make this trip quick and ran into the diner to order his food to go.

What seemed like the longest wait in history later, Paul rushed out of the restaurant, bag and styrofoam cup in hand. After getting in the car, he looked to see Jacob glaring at him.

"I asked you if you wanted anything! You didn't answer. I'm sorry it took so long. I was trying to hurry. Then I saw our customer, the policeman. Jacob, talk to me, man. What is going on?" Paul looked a bit panic-stricken.

Jacob turned and cracked the window before gulping in fresh air through his nostrils. Once the scent dissipated, he turned back in his seat. He stayed silent all the way home.

Paul thought Jacob was locked in his pain from therapy and had every plan to give him a double dose of pain killers when they got him back home. What he didn't know were the thoughts going through Jacob's head at that moment.

Jacob was petrified of going home. He promised his wife this would never happen. The feelings of love felt shadowed by something bigger. Jacob decided at that moment he would not tell anyone what happened. He would fight this imprint, he had a wife and family. Realizing his behavior must have alarmed Paul, he shook it off to the best of his ability.

"Sorry, man. There's no preparing you for the excruciating pain of therapy. I feel like I could lay down and never move again," Jacob apologized quietly. He needed to somehow cover for his behavior. Once he got home, he needed to be alone and acting catatonic would keep someone by his side for sure.

"Hey, no problem. I was only worried about you," Paul said as he finished the last bites of his burger.

"Thanks. I'll be okay. After you help me in the house, you can take off. I'm going to take my meds and hopefully sleep for hours," Jacob said.

Once Paul was finally gone, after insisting that he get Jacob a sandwich, an apple, a bottle of water _and_ a glass of juice, Jacob sat staring around his family home. He swiped his phone and dialed a number from his contacts.

"Hi, this is Jacob Black. I wanted to see if I could reschedule my sessions this week for the afternoon. I'm not able to get a ride there in the mornings," he said to the receptionist.

"Sure, Mr. Black. I'll see what I can do. I have 2 o'clocks open. Will that work?" she asked.

"That'll be great. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it," he said and hung the phone up, relieved. When you lived in a small town, there weren't a lot of choices for things sometimes. He couldn't keep going at the same time as Bella Swan.

Eventually the drowsiness of the medication overtook his mind and he drifted off to sleep on the couch.

Something was tickling his nose but every time he rubbed it, there was nothing there. Jacob was still groggy from the meds and didn't realize there were two little ones behind the couch silently laughing. They'd peek up and Ryker would tickle their daddy's nose, his arm would jerk up, and then he'd doze back to sleep.

"What the hell?" Jacob finally said. It was then that the giggles could no longer be contained and both kids dashed from the room, laughing.

Jacob smiled at their prank on him and sat up, looking around for Danni. He grabbed the water bottle from the end table and drank half of it. Of course, following his water guzzling was a huge loud burp.

"Jake! That's nasty!" Danni scolded from behind him. She walked around in front of the couch with a basket of laundry in her hands. "Think you can fold some towels while you're sitting there?"

"Sure," he answered. He looked to his wife to see if she looked different to him. She still looked as pretty as ever. That was a relief, but there was a feeling of longing in his chest as well. He felt like there was something he was missing, what exactly he wasn't sure yet.

He reached into the basket and started folding towels, stacking them on the couch next to him. Once the basket was empty, he put the piles back in the laundry basket for Danni to put away.

"Dinner's almost ready. I'm taking it easy tonight and we're having grilled chicken salad. So, tell me about therapy. Paul sent me a text and said you were out of it," Danni said, as she sat on the coffee table looking at Jacob.

Jacob squirmed uncomfortably on the couch. It was a lot easier to lie to Paul's face about his problems, but not as easy to lie to his wife. They'd always been honest with each other, even when it was hard to be. He rubbed his hand across his face and took a deep breath.

"Honestly, it sucked ass. It was incredibly painful. I think those people get off on making other people suffer. The girl coming out ahead of me was crying and screaming to leave," Jacob responded. He'd given her the truth, just not all of it. "I was in so much pain afterward, I couldn't think straight, let alone talk."

"Sorry, if I freaked you and Paul out, babe. It was bad. I moved my appointments to the afternoon. That way maybe I can some work done in the morning over the phone and computer, then after therapy I can sleep and eat dinner with you guys."

"I'm so sorry, Jake. I wish you didn't have to go through this. You go whatever time of day you think is best. We'll work out our schedule at home. Rachel has promised to get Hope and I have Ryker from school. You only need to worry about getting better," she smiled and leaned over to place a soft lingering kiss on his cheek.

"Now, you lay back and watch some TV while I get dinner on the TV trays!"

"Kids, wash your hands for dinner," she called out and went into the kitchen.

The family enjoyed having dinner together in the family room again. Danni told the kids they shouldn't get used to it because they would be back to the kitchen soon. The kids shrugged and decided to enjoy a good thing while it lasted. TV and dinner, a great and rare treat.

Eventually Jacob had given up on the idea of sleep and laid there staring at Danni, wondering what was going to happen to them. After a long night, Jacob dragged himself to the bathroom. Being home from the hospital wasn't as big of a relief that he thought it would be. The nurses weren't coming and going all hours of the night and it was a lot quieter. Yet, he couldn't get comfortable with the equipment strapped to his leg and his broken ribs were still sore. The pain killers helped him sleep some but that night, his active thoughts kept him awake.

In the bathroom, he washed his face and cleaned himself up the best that he could. He hobbled back to the couch and sat down. He smiled when he saw that his wonderful wife had left him a mug of coffee and his laptop. With his leg propped on a couple of pillows on the edge of the coffee table, he flipped the lid open and launched his email program.

It took a while to download the email backlog and even longer to read through them, sort them and respond as needed. There were many well-wishing emails from his contacts that had heard of his accident. Of course, there were no shortage of emails from doctors and the hospital already asking for money.

He shut the lid and stared at the ceiling. For the amount of money they now owed, they could have bought a house and a car. It was unreal the cost of medical care in the U.S. Danni was right, though. They'd figure out a way.

The last email caught his eye. It was from the broker that arranged the sale of Charlie's furniture.

_Hey, Jacob. Heard you were finally released from the hospital. Hope you are feeling a lot better now. Be careful! My clients wanted to let you know that they loved the furniture you sold. If your client decides to sell again, please call me first. They promise to outbid anyone else. _

Jacob sent a quick response to her, not because of the Cullen's, but he needed to keep his contact list as long as possible. Being a jerk for no apparent reason would not help his business out.

Before long, it was time for Jacob to head to the rehab center. This time, he brought his water and pain meds with him. He sat on the couch drumming on his stomach, waiting for Paul to drop in and get him. It was only a few minutes later before the sound of car doors slamming could be heard.

Rachel and Paul walked in together.

"Hey, little brother. All set?" Rachel smiled and ruffled Jake's hair.

"I'm not 8 anymore, Rach," he jerked his head away and fixed his hair.

"You're right. You weren't this helpless when you were 8!" she cackled. Paul shoved past her and helped Jacob to his feet, so that they could leave. Paul promised to take Rachel out to lunch while he waited on Jake. It was incredibly boring to sit in a car for an hour with little to do.

The crutches Jacob had weren't really designed for a guy as big as him, but they would suffice for the time being. Jacob was bound and determined to be the fasted healing person in the place. He hobbled to the automatic door button and then headed into the lobby. The receptionist saw Jacob and smiled warmly at him.

"Hi, Mr. Black. Welcome back," she said. "Your therapist is ready, you can go right on back."

"Okay, thanks," he said, and grunted as he managed to get around the chairs with the crutches.

The door swung open and his therapist was there waiting on the other side. It was a young guy, probably close to Jacob's age. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He reached his hand out to Jacob and introduced himself.

"Hi, Mr. Black. I'm Mike. Welcome to the afternoon shift," he smiled with his bleached white smile to Jacob. "I'm going to apologize in advance. Our 2:30 appointment is a real bear. The patient complains about everything and has put little effort into their own recovery. I'll try to get you out of the main room and into the stretching area before she gets here."

"No problem, Mike. I'm sure everything will be fine," Jacob grinned easily.

They headed to the machines that would keep Jacob's muscles from getting too weak while he was healing. They also hooked him up to a couple of machines that slowly moved his arms and back to keep him from getting to tight in his chest.

Jacob's eyes kept flickering to the clock. It wasn't nearly as painful as the first time and Mike chatted with him about random things. He grew up in Forks, and went to Forks High. He was supposed to take over his parents' sporting good store, but didn't really see himself as a business owner. So instead, he got his degree in physical therapy, which brought him here.

The furniture store was popular in the area and Mike had heard of it without knowing who owned it exactly. His wife, Jessica, was into "upscale" furniture as she called it, and everything had to be ordered brand new from Seattle. Luckily, she had a job making better money than Mike, so they could afford it.

Shaking his head, Jacob was surprised at how he had gotten sucked into the story of Mike's life. In a way, he was glad because it kept his mind off of the pain. On the other hand, he didn't really care what this guy did.

"She's here, let's go. Be quick, she hates me, man," Mike whispered, as he held the crutches out to Jacob urging the other man along.

One of the other therapists went to the door and held it open. In rolled, none other than Bella Swan. Her face was sour and she looked very unhappy to be there, but she wasn't talking. Suddenly, her eyes searched the room and she made eye contact again with Jacob. Her lips lifted in a weak smile and then she looked away, blushing the lightest shade of pink.

"Hi, Ms. Swan," Mike greeted her quietly, but quickly as he rushed by her chair. Her only reply was a huff.

"Hi, Mr. Black," she said, meekly. "My dad told me about you yesterday. I'm Bella. Bella Swan." She reached her fingers out intending to shake Jacob's hand.

Instead, he kept his hands locked tight on the handles to the crutches.

"Sorry, I'm not very good with these things. If I let go, I'm likely to fall on my ass. I mean, butt," he chuckled, embarrassed. "Anyway, I better get going before Mike starts making me walk on my own."

"He's a painful little prick. Watch out for him," she said, as she glared in the direction Mike had gone.

"Good luck today, Bella," Jacob said sincerely as he headed off to find Mike.

"Do you know her, Mr. Black?" Mike asked.

"Well, not exactly. I've done business with her dad, so he told her about me," Jacob shrugged.

Mike gestured to a table that was lowered for Jacob to sit on. Once Jacob was in a lying position on his back, his leg was suspended to keep it comfortable. Mike kept up his nonstop chatter while he stretched Jacob's limbs. He was careful to not be too rough on the guy and never pushed him too far.

When Jacob was done, he sat in the waiting room. Paul wasn't there to pick him up, but he figured it wouldn't be much longer. The doors to the big workout room opened and the therapist wheeled Bella out into the waiting room.

"Remember, Bella, the more work you put into building your muscles, the sooner you'll be back on your own two feet."

Jacob could hear Bella mock the woman petulantly under her breath.

"Why do you give them such a hard time? They're only trying to help you?" he asked her.

"Whatever! They're trying to see how much pain one person can endure before they actually die of pain," she snapped back at him.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Had he really imprinted on a snotty little bitch? It didn't seem right.

She sighed loudly and rubbed both hands over her face.

"I'm sorry. I've been in the hospital for months and now I'm still in this chair. It's frustrating. It's not their fault. I'm sorry for snapping at you," she replied, much gentler than before.

"I know it's hard. Try not to take it out on others. They're just doing their job, you know," Jacob said, trying to smile at her.

"Well, thanks for the pep talk, Jacob. See you tomorrow at 2:30," she smiled, widely and started wheeling herself out the door.

"Jake! Yo, man! Let's go!" Paul said from the other side of the automatic doors.

Jacob followed Bella out of the rehab center and he watched as Charlie helped her into the passenger side of _the _black Mercedes. 'Why didn't she just sell that car?' Jacob wondered. It was worth quite a lot of money. Not as much as the furniture, but still.

Rachel was sitting in the front seat with her arm dangling out the open window. A bag was in her hand.

"I come bearing take out," she gloated. "What sounds good, doughnuts or cupcakes?"

"Right now, neither. I'll save a cupcake for later, Rach," Jacob said, not wanting to hurt his sister's feelings. The kids could share it for dessert. If it was from the bakery near his store, they were large and could feed 2 adults without a problem.

"Okay, but I can't promise I'll save you a doughnut," she giggled.

After swallowing his pain pills down with the water he brought, Jacob sagged back into the seat. He watched the greenery as they drove past it. It really was a beautiful area. He debated changing the time of his therapy, but decided to keep it. The afternoon time did work out better overall, and he'd be better about getting into the stretching room before Bella arrived. Then he'd be out the door before she left, as long as Paul wasn't late again.

Paul and Rachel helped get Jacob settled back into the house before they left. Rachel put the saved cupcake into the fridge for him for later. She told him it was the best one she'd ever had-chocolate covered strawberry.

Jacob laid back into the couch and snuggled into the pillows. He fell asleep easily.

He realized he was dreaming when he felt himself walking on the beach. He looked down at his leg and saw the brace had been removed. There was no pain anywhere in his body. He also felt tremendously happy. In his dream, Jacob spun around in his happiness to be free.

"Feels good to be free, doesn't it?" he heard a woman chuckling beside him. He turned and saw Bella standing a few feet from him. She looked healthy and carefree, none of that grumpiness he saw that day.

"You're healed too?" he asked dumbly.

"This is a dream, I think. So isn't everyone?" she chuckled.

"Why are you in my dream?" he asked another dumb question.

"I don't really know that. Want to race?" she laughed and turned, running as fast as she could down the beach.

Running after her, Jacob hooted and laughed. He caught up to her easily and they both crashed into the sand. Bella righted herself and sat on the sand, staring out into the ocean.

"That was fun. Thanks. I don't really have a lot of friends," Bella said.

"Really? What about your friends that took you to the hospital?" Jacob asked, looking puzzled.

"The Cullens? They aren't my friends. I don't want to talk about them," she responded bitterly.

"Okay. We won't talk about those bloodsuckers," Jacob hissed under his breath.

Bella gasped loudly. "How do you know that?" Her eyes were wide and her mouth gaped.

Jacob awoke with his heart pounding in his chest. Did Bella know what they were? What did she know about monsters and magic? Did she know about the Quileutes?


	7. Dream a Little Dream of Me

Chapter 7

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just living the dream. The kind where Jacob and Bella get together. I also do not claim to know a thing about medicine or how the screws in broken bones work. I know I've seen some grotesque pictures online, and haven't done research. So if I'm wrong, it's ok, just go with it-for me.

After being startled from sleep by the dream of Bella, Jacob went to the bathroom before returning to the couch. His body was sore from being broken and healing, so he laid back down to get some more sleep. He slept for several hours without awaking again and he had no other memories of dreaming at all.

The kids were getting dressed for bed when Jacob was consciously awake. He floundered around until he made it to the kitchen, where he perched on a barstool. Each of his kids came and gave him a long hug and a quick kiss before skipping off to bed.

Overall, Jacob was still groggy from the sleep, but he looked around the kitchen while rubbing his tired eyes. He stretched both arms over his head, carefully, and then tilted his head to both sides. A loud yawn soon followed, but gentle hands reached under his shirt, and rubbed up his back.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Danni whispered, as she placed a few kissed on the back of Jacob's neck.

Jacob expected the rise of goosebumps that he usually got when she did this, but instead there was nothing. He turned himself on the stool and Danni stepped in between his knees. He smiled at her, but his eyes still droopy. Jacob kissed her on the lips and found he didn't have to force himself to enjoy it. It was a nice feeling, a comfortable feeling, one that he knew.

"Sorry, I slept through dinner and bath time," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I mean it. You do whatever you need to do to get better," Danni said. "By the way, Billy wants to come over in the morning for a while. He said he'd find someone to drop him off and pick him up."

"Okay. It's been a bit since I've seen him. I wonder what's been going on," Jacob thought aloud.

"I've been keeping in touch with him. He knows you're focused on getting better, he didn't want to bother you," she smiled and ran a finger down his cheek.

"He's my dad. He's not bothering me," Jacob looked down at the floor feeling ashamed that he was so focused on himself that he hadn't even bothered to call his own father.

Jacob wrapped his arms loosely around his wife's waist and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

Two days. He had been imprinted for 2 days and he was already forgetting important things.

"Jake, why don't you get back to the couch? If you fall asleep on me, we'll both be on the kitchen floor," she said.

He just smiled at her like a goon.

"Not like that!" she laughed. Jacob got up and struggled his way back to the couch. Danni brought over a plate with chicken casserole and salad for him.

The next several weeks' routine at home was similar for Jacob and Danni. He would fall asleep for hours after his physical therapy and wake up in time to give the kids hugs and kisses before they went to bed. Danni would bring his leftover dinner to the couch, while she worked folding laundry or grading papers. Billy had come to visit a few times, as well as Paul and Rachel on the weekends.

Paul continued to shuttle Jacob to and from therapy. Much to Jacob's annoyance, Paul had started picking him up a few minutes later each day. Jacob had talked to Paul a number of times about being there on time, but Paul had plenty of excuses. Things at their store needed tending, he was eating lunch and it took too long, or he was on the phone with a customer. Jacob backed off because he knew that Paul was doing most of the day to day work at the store.

However, this left time. Jacob didn't want time. He didn't want spare time. The last part of the day he wanted spare time was at therapy. He and Bella had talked a little when he sat waiting for Paul. Nothing too personal, mostly benign things like the weather and her dad, but also discussing their individual progress on healing.

Yet, the one thing that Jacob noticed was that the ice had seemed to melt away from Bella. She was kinder to the staff members, except for Mike, she still glared at him when he got too close to her. But she didn't talk to him or say anything rude. Everyone commented on how much progress she was making.

Jacob also noticed that when she came out of the doors, she had a smile on her face. She wasn't smiling at anything or anyone in particular, she only seemed happier.

One afternoon, Jacob sat waiting on Paul. He was at least 20 minutes late and was not answering Jacob's calls or texts. He was getting annoyed and frustrated. If he knew that Paul wasn't going to be there, he could make other arrangements to get home. It was incredibly annoying having to rely on someone to take you places. If only he was completely healed.

A black minivan pulled up in front of Jacob and the passenger window rolled down. In the driver's seat was Bella.

"Hey, I saw you're still sitting here," she commented. "Did Paul forget you this time? Can I give you a ride?"

Jacob stood and walked over to the window, resting his crutches against the van and his forearms in the open window.

"You're driving?" he asked, surprised. He looked to see she was still in the wheelchair and had had hand controls installed.

"Yeah. My newfound independence! You like?" she grinned, holding her hands out. "I can give you that ride."

Just then a horn honked behind the van. Jacob leaned back and could see Paul waving to him.

"Nah, thanks, though. Paul's finally here," he rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Hey, wait a second. I wanted to say thanks. You know, for setting me straight on my attitude," Bella said, but she looked out the windshield to avoid eye contact.

"Oh. You're welcome," he started when Paul rudely honked the horn 3 times. "I gotta go. See you later."

"Who are you talking to in the fancy wheelchair van, Jake?" Paul asked, as he pealed out of the parking lot.

"Remember the girl in the wheelchair, our customer, Charlie Swan's girl? She got an accessible van, I guess. She offered me a ride," Jacob answered.

"Oh yeah? It would be nice to not have to wait around for you," Paul laughed.

Jacob turned and looked at his brother-in-law to see if he was serious about such a suggestion.

"I don't mind picking you up. Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you with a strange woman. Rachel would kill me. Danni, too," he said.

"Tomorrow, I have a doctor's appointment at 9:00 so don't forget to be here early to pick me up. I'm getting this crap off my leg finally," Jacob said as he gestured to the leg brace.

"So, you'll be done with therapy when you get that off, right?" Paul asked.

"Nah, man. When I get this off, I'll have to start working this leg out. I've only been doing stretches on the rest of my body while I was there. I couldn't put any pressure on this with screws in my leg," Jacob responded. "But I am looking forward to walking around on my own. I can probably start driving too. I want to wait until I know what the pain will be like."

"Thanks for the ride, Paul. See you later," Jacob called, as he headed into the house.

Jacob went in to the house and headed to his current bed-the couch. He propped his leg up and checked his email for work. Things were, thankfully, going well in his absence.

He called his dad to check in and talked with him for a little while.

After that, he sat staring around the living room. He had backed off the pain medication some and didn't really have a lot he could do, he wasn't ready to pass out asleep. Or so he thought.

In a few minutes, Jacob was snoring soundly on the couch, with his foot propped up and his head on the back, mouth open.

He was dreaming again and was sitting on the beach, gazing into the ocean. It was quiet and he felt at peace. When he turned his head, he finally noticed Bella was sitting on the sand beside him, looking out at the ocean too.

"Hey," she said, looking at him.

"Hi. How do we keep meeting like this?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. This is different than the usual dreams I have. Well, nightmares really," she breathed.

"Nightmares? Of what?"

"The Cullens. Vampires. The attack-you know what put me in the hospital," she shrugged.

"Why do you think we're here? Do you want to tell me about it?" he turned to face her.

Bella turned toward Jacob and they were facing each other with their legs crossed. Bella took a deep breath before starting.

"Well, I know this is going to sound crazy. But all things considered, we're having this talk, so I guess it's not as crazy as one might think," she breathed out in a rush, with a smile.

"Anyway, in high school, I met the Cullens. Edward was in my biology class and Alice was my best friend. After graduation, we all went east for college. I got a degree in journalism with a minor in business administration. Then I started working for a publishing firm. Things were normal, mostly. How normal can they really be when you live with a vampire coven?" Bella looked up at Jake.

He didn't respond, just nodded for her to continue.

"Only Carlisle, their 'father,' worked-as a doctor. Edward took college courses with me, or Alice. I was never alone. At the time, it was okay with me. It seemed normal because I liked being with them. Then when I got a job and they would come up with excuses to be there with me. It started to get weird. Whenever a guy would approach me and start talking to me, Edward would show up with a huge bouquet of flowers. One day at a work luncheon, one of my coworkers asked me why one of them was always around, if I was in the witness protection program or something."

She paused, and gazed out into the horizon, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Jacob reached out and brushed her arm gently with the backs of his fingers. She looked back at him.

"Finally, I confronted them. I asked them why they were following me everywhere. Why I couldn't have a life of my own. They all got defensive, saying they were doing what was best for me. I got mad. Of course, I fell. I am the world's biggest klutz. I went down two flights of stairs."

"Like you know, I ended up broken and battered. But more than just my body, my heart was broken. They brought me to the hospital, and Charlie had me moved here so he could take care of me. I didn't want to see them ever again. They've tried to do everything they can to help me out, but I don't want it. That ridiculous Mercedes, for instance. Finally, Charlie let me sell it to get the van. You see how much happier I've been." She smirked and turned away.

Jacob twisted back on the sand and straightened his legs out in front of him. He wiggled his toes and pushed them down into the wet sand. He absorbed everything Bella had told him. She had known about vampires and lived with them.

"Was he your boyfriend?" Jacob inquired.

"I called him that, but he wasn't really. Not like you think," she answered softly.

"What do you mean?"

"He said he couldn't do anything, without, well, killing me," Bella replied.

Jacob shivered with the thought of what could have happened.

"You said you had nightmares about what happened. You having a bit of a fall is bad and all, but what was so terrifying about that?" Jacob wondered aloud.

After a few minutes, Bella answered his thought. "I was bleeding, Jake. What do you think happened in a room of vampires?"

Jacob jumped up from the sand and began walking away from her. He knew that ultimately she was okay, but the thought of anyone with those leeches. The danger she was in constantly by being near them.

"They attacked you," he stated firmly.

By this time, Bella stood and watched him with her arms crossed tightly together.

"They fought each other. Edward, Carlisle and Alice protected me. The others tried to attack. It was terrifying. I see them coming for me in my nightmares," she finished.

Jacob looked long at Bella. With her arms wrapped around her chest, she was trembling. He didn't feel like he knew her that well, but he didn't think anyone should have to live in fear. He walked over to her and placed his palm on her shoulder. She jerked and looked at him alarmed.

"Did you feel that?" she asked with shock.

"Jake! Jake! Wake up! Jake!" Jacob was roused from his sleep by the persistent pushing of his arm. Slowly, he awoke to realize Danni was speaking to him. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"There he is! Welcome back to the land of the living!" she joked. "You've been sleeping for hours, thought you needed to wake up and eat."

"Thanks," he said. "Let me go splash some water on my face."

"No need," Danni said, as she held a bowl with ice water and a washcloth up for him. "This was next."

He chuckled and wetted the cloth, rubbing it across his face.

The next morning, Paul took Jacob to his scheduled appointment. It wasn't the easiest or even a painless appointment, as he had all of the "equipment" removed from his body. However, he was finally free. Jacob looked forward to laying down to sleep in his own bed. Well, his and Danni's bed.

As soon as they got back to Jacob's house, Paul helped Jacob get into the bed. The doctor gave Jacob a shot of the "good stuff" as Paul called it before they removed everything. Jacob was barely awake and in a lot of pain. Paul left some things on the nightstand for Jacob so he wouldn't have to go far when he woke up. His bottle of pain meds, water, a candy bar and his cell phone were all within reach.

"Later, dude," Paul whispered as he left the room.

With the heavy duty medication, Jacob slept for hours. When Paul came to pick him up for physical therapy, he couldn't rouse the other man from sleep. Instead of trying, he simply called the therapy center and cancelled that day's appointment. He left and texted Danni so she would know he'd had a rough morning.

In this dream, Jacob found himself sitting at the top of the cliffs. He hadn't been there since he stopped phasing, having no interest in proving what his body could still handle. The accident proved he was breakable, that's for sure. As he sat staring out over the ocean, he heard a twig snap behind him. He turned to see Bella walking up behind him.

"I'm not sure we can keep meeting like this, Jake," she giggled.

He smiled back and patted the open rock next to him. She sat down, but further away from the edge.

"How have your nightmares been?" he asked, interested.

"Still bad. Except the few times I get to see you," she turned red and looked away. "I'm sorry. I know you're happily married and I feel awful for being excited to have a dream with you. Not that you know about it or anything. How crazy would I sound if I told you I was dreaming of you?"

"Yeah," he whispered. He kind of knew how she felt. This was such a strange feeling. He wondered if she was only part of his imagination, or she remembered these dreams too.

"So, last time, when you touched my arm, it was like an electric shock. Did you feel that? Or is it just my crazy brain?" she asked him.

"No, it's not you. I felt it too," he answered quietly.

"It's weird. I've never felt that before."

"Me neither," he said, honestly.

"So, why do you give Mike such a hard time?" he finally asked, feeling brave in this dream world.

Bella laughed. "Well, you know we went to high school together?" Jacob nodded his head.

"He wanted to date me. Which isn't really a big deal. He was relentless about it. I couldn't get him to give me any space. I was young, I didn't know how to tell him. So Edward offered to get involved. Of course, that was the last thing I wanted! My mind reading vampire boyfriend telling a guy to leave me alone," she smiled, looking at Jacob, pausing when she saw his expression.

"Did you just say mind reading?" he gasped.

"Uh, yeah. Wait, I thought you knew what they were? How do you know about the Cullens?" she finally thought to ask.

"I'll get to that part. He was a mind reader? Are you kidding me?" Jacob shook his head, appalled at this new knowledge. All this time and his tribe's treaty with them. They knew exactly what they were doing.

"Not kidding, Jake. Every mind but mine. I was silent to him. Broken, I guess," she lifted her shoulder.

"Lucky is more like it, you know. In short, I was a protector for my tribe. We could change our shape-into wolves. After they left Forks, we were able to stop shifting. I'm just a plain old guy now," he said.

"You're not old, or plain," she retorted.

It was Jacob's turn to blush a little. "I think it's time to go," Bella said. "Since this is only a dream…" Then she leaned forward a placed a gentle kiss on Jacob's lips. "I've been wanting to do that since we met."

Jacob froze for a moment. He leaned forward and placed his lips tentatively against hers. Then, she opened her lips just the smallest bit and slid her tongue out to taste his lips. They continued the kiss and deepened it. Bella wrapped her hands in Jacob's shirt, holding onto him. Finally, he placed one last kiss to her lips and backed up.

"That was amazing," she said, lighting up beautifully.

Jacob turned around and was finally awake. There staring into his eyes was his beautiful daughter, Hope.

"Hi, Daddy," she whispered.

"Hey, sweetness," he whispered back. He sighed. Things were so messed up.


	8. A Lie by Omission is Still a Lie

Chapter 8

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

"Daddy, I'm happy you have that yucky thing off your leg," Hope said, as she reached out to run her small fingers along Jacob's leg. She was inspecting him, verifying with her hands and eyes that he was okay.

"When will you be able to walk again?" she asked, snuggling up against his body.

"Really soon, I hope," he kissed her hair and enjoyed the calm cuddling.

"I miss playing with you, and I want to go to the beach this summer and play," she said.

"That sounds like a good plan, Hope. It won't be long until school is out for the summer and Mommy will be home with you every day," he comforted her. One of the perks of being a teacher was most of the summer off-at least not having a schedule at school.

Jacob shook his head. He was thinking of all the time his wife put into her job. In a day and age when people were taking education for granted, and treated teachers like crap, his wife worked hard every day for every kid in her class. He hoped that all of the parents were grateful for the time she put into each of their children. It made him value his children's teachers that much more.

"Why don't you go pick a book that I can read to you?" Jacob offered. Hope dashed off the bed and was back in a flash. She had a fun book that Jacob felt like he could relate to-_The Very Hungry Caterpillar_.

After the story was over, Hope laid next to him looking pensive.

"What are you thinking about, sweet girl?"

"Daddy, don't you think it hurts the caterpillars to change into a butterfly?"

Jacob thought about his own transformation. Sure, the first time had been painful. But after the first time, when he was able to run full speed as a wolf and use the power his new body brought him, it wasn't so bad.

"Well, I think it might hurt a little bit. But after the butterfly can be free to fly wherever it wants, I bet it is very happy," he rubbed her arm with his warm hand.

"That sounds nice. I think I might like to be a butterfly one day," she said and then leaned up to give Jacob a hug and kiss. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, Hope," he smiled.

The following afternoon, Jacob was actually looking forward to therapy. He was on the path to independence again. He didn't want to rely on Paul to take him anywhere anymore, and he wanted to walk without the damn crutches. Unfortunately, this had kept him home more often than not because it was too much of a hassle to go out places. Mike promised they would start working his leg right away and get Jacob walking as soon as possible.

Jacob was already smiling as he walked, well swung, into the therapy center. Mike was waiting for him and they got right to work with the parallel bars and Jacob putting a bit of weight on his leg. It was painful, but Jacob was determined.

Mike and Jacob were chatting about life and kids, when Jacob casually brought the subject back to high school. He had been wondering how much of his dreams were in truth, if at all.

"So, did you go to school at the same time as Bella?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, man. She was way different then, than she is now. She's the Ice Queen now," he chuckled.

"Is that because of her accident?" Jacob pressed.

Mike stuttered. That was a first. "Well, no, she and I sort of…"

"Dated?" Jacob questioned.

"Ha! No. No. We didn't date. She didn't like me like that," Mike blushed brightly.

Jacob decided to let the guy off the hook and changed the subject to high school antics and the trouble that Jacob got into with Embry and Quil.

They were laughing when Bella came in. This time, she was using a walker and was upright.

Bella and Jacob stood staring at each other. The tension between them was obvious.

Mike, who was ever oblivious to social cues, interrupted their mutual appraisals.

"Look at you guys, both standing on the same day! What a funny thing!" he chuckled.

Bella turned a light shade of pink before slowly moving herself toward her therapist. This time, Jacob remained in the main therapy room the entire time and he found his eyes kept straying to Bella. She was working really hard, and the sweat could be seen dripping down her face as she worked her body.

"Bella, I'm proud of the progress you have made. But we've got to be careful not to overdo it, you know," her therapist praised and warned her.

"I know. I feel like I've finally seen a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel and I want to keep progress going," Bella said as she wiped her face with a towel.

Jacob's session was over and again he was waiting on Paul. This time though, his brother-in-law had the courtesy to text him that he was running late. Jacob sat on a bench underneath a tree a little ways from the door and began playing games on his phone to kill time.

Jacob felt her before he saw her. Bella was coming toward him and rested beside him on the bench.

"Paul's late again, huh?" she laughed.

"Yeah, but this time, he let me know he's on his way. Nice change, I guess," Jacob grinned back. "I am looking forward to the day I don't have to rely on him."

"I know exactly what you mean. I guess I'm kind of lucky," she smiled, looking down in her lap.

"What?" he breathed.

She looked at him, puzzled. "Well, somebody recently told me I was lucky," she hesitated. "Somebody who thought they were old and…"

"Plain," they finished together.

Both of their eyes widened with shock. Neither was brave enough to broach the topic of the dreams to the other.

"Oh my gosh. No way," Bella stood, embarrassed. Now, this married man knew that she had been dying to kiss him. That was a dream. How many people did things in dreams that they wouldn't really do in real life? She tried to get her body moving forward, but it didn't want to cooperate.

"How are your nightmares?" he asked, testing.

Bella stood stock still, staring at Jacob. She couldn't understand what was transpiring between them.

"Are you still a wolf?" she asked.

Jacob straightened. His wolf decided this was the time to start his reawakening. A low rumble bubbled up from Jacob's chest.

Without realizing it, Jacob walked to Bella and stood in front of her. He turned his head to the side, studying her, debating whether this moment in time was another dream or reality. His body was no longer in pain, a sign that he was dreaming. Yet, they never saw each other anywhere but the beach.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked, quietly.

"No, Jacob. I don't think you are. I don't think we were, either. I've got to go. I'm sorry, I don't understand any of this," Bella turned and retreated as quickly as she was able to her van.

Jacob stood there like an idiot. He didn't realize Paul had pulled up in front of him until he honked the horn. Jacob blinked and then looked around him, snapping out of his stupor.

Holy. Shit.

He had to go see Billy. Right. Now.

Jacob walked to Paul's truck and got in, leaving his crutches behind on the bench.

"Ugh, I thought you still needed those?" Paul asked, confused.

"Apparently, I don't. I'm healed. Nobody knows but you. Take me to my dad's house, please. I've got to talk to him," Jacob said in a near command and Paul was surprised at the compulsion he felt to obey.

Jacob swiped his phone open and called his dad to make sure he was home. Billy asked if everything was okay. Jacob said he wasn't sure yet.

When Paul pulled into the driveway, he started to get out of the truck with Jacob. Jacob shook his head and told him to go.

"Jake, what the hell is going on, man? I pull up and you look like you've just seen a ghost and you're suddenly healed after months. You think I'm not worried?" he asked incredulously. "Oh, no! Oh shit, you saw a vamp! Didn't you?"

"Paul, calm down. Please. I did not see a vampire. I will explain to you eventually. Let me talk with my dad, so _**I**_ can figure out what is going on first," Jacob got out of the car and ran up to his childhood home.

He flung the front door open and walked in, calling out, "Dad!"

"Jake?!" Billy said with astonishment from the kitchen. "Wha…what…Look at you! Explain, son."

"Well, Dad, I was kind of hoping you could," Jacob said, as he pulled up a kitchen chair beside his shocked father. He smiled tentatively at him.

"I'm not sure what to say. Why today? I was worried when you were in the hospital and you woke up so quickly that you would've healed too fast. But it didn't happen and now…look at you! You're walking again!" Billy gestured to his son, with a mystified look.

"Well, there's something I need to tell you. Something I haven't told anyone. I…I imprinted," Jacob said, holding his head down, afraid of the look his father was going to give him.

"Oh. Oh, I'm guessing it wasn't on Danni," Billy stated quietly.

Jacob just shook his head in the negative. Billy reached out with his aged hand and grasped his son's chin.

"It'll be okay, son," he encouraged.

At that moment, the tidal wave of emotions took over Jacob's body and he began crying. Billy held his son as best as he could. He reached out to the table and grabbed a napkin, handing it to Jacob to wipe his face.

"How will anything ever be okay again? I'm married, Dad. I promised Danni this would never happen. Now it has, and I've been having dreams where she and I have talked," Jacob explained.

"Dreams? Jake, are you sure they are dreams? What are you guys talking about?" Billy asked.

"Not exactly. Today, I confirmed that she knew about them," he answered reluctantly, looking up into his father's eyes, so much like his own.

"Woah, Jake. I can't believe after all this time you've imprinted. Is she Quileute?" he inquired.

"No. But, Dad, it gets weirder. She knew the Cullens and lived with them," Jacob said.

"What?! She's a vampire! Jake, this is crazy!" Billy sat up, exasperated.

"Dad! No, no. Remember my customer, Charlie Swan? The police chief? It's his daughter," Jacob said trying to calm the other man's overactive imagination.

"The one that got hurt falling down the stairs?" Billy remembered.

"Yes. According to her, or the dream version of her, she really did fall. They didn't hurt her on purpose," Jacob reassured.

"Dad, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Jake, when did this happen?"

"Last month."

It was the next voice that shocked them both. Danni walked into the room, pale as a sheet, staring at Jacob with utter despair written all over face.

"A month? A month ago, you imprinted on another woman and you didn't think this was something you needed to share with me, Jacob Black?" she asked, just above a whisper.

Goose bumps rose on Jacob's arms. He knew that the time to be the most scared of his wife was when she wasn't yelling. She had mastered the whole "I will be pissed off quietly" routine.

Jacob stood up and rushed to her side.

"You can walk now? Oh my gosh, you can walk now?!" she asked with an edge of hysteria to her voice. "So, you imprint and then you're magically cured?"

She took a deep breath and walked over to the couch, sitting down on the front of it. Jacob followed her and sat down. He tried to wrap his arm around her shoulders but she jerked away from him.

"No. Don't. Let's not pretend I'm yours anymore," she said quietly.

"Babe, you are mine. I still love you. Please, don't pull away from me."

"I can't do this. I can't fight fate," she stood abruptly and raced out the door.

Jacob swore. He got a ride here from Paul, and while he felt like he could easily run home, he didn't want to raise suspicion when he shouldn't be able to walk yet. This wasn't news he wanted out yet.

"Paul? Did you call Danni? What the hell did you do that for? I told you I would explain," Jacob barked into the phone.

"Get over here right now and take me home. I've got to catch, Danni. Call Rachel and tell her to get the kids from school and take them to your house," he commanded.

Paul was shocked at whatever was happening, but he raced out to get Jacob, calling Rachel on the way. He told her he'd explain everything he could later, but to get Danni and Jake's kids. She tried to question him over and over, but he finally said he had to go and hung up on her.

The truck spun its tires as Paul swiftly pulled into the drive. Jacob was already waiting impatiently and ripped the door open, hopping in, telling Paul to go the moment his body was within the vehicle.

"Jake, you better start explaining right now! What the fuck is going on?" Paul raged.

"I will explain everything to you, after I stop my wife from leaving me. You are a complete asshole for calling her. She walked in on a conversation I was having with my dad that I had not yet figured out how to tell her."

"You cheated on Danni? You are a real fucker, Jake!" Paul growled.

"What? No, I did not. Have you lost your brain today? You're making all of these assumptions. Shut your mouth until I tell you that you can speak again!" Jacob spat at him.

They pulled into Jacob's yard and Jacob was already jumping from the slowing vehicle. Thankfully, Danni's car was still there. Jacob tore into the house, calling her name.

"Danni! Danni! Where are you?" he went to their bedroom first. She was there with a suitcase on the bed, calmly packing her things.

Jacob ran up to her and started grabbing her clothes putting them back in her dresser.

"Babe, stop. Please, stop." He looked at her to see silent tears streaming down her face. His own soon followed down his cheeks. Both their hearts were breaking. She wouldn't even let him speak or explain. She continued to pack and everything that Jacob removed, she calmly put back.

"Jake, you are killing me. Stop unpacking my things. Let me do this. Let me go. We can't fight against this. I promised myself when you explained all of the legends to me, that if this ever happened, I would let you go. That I loved you enough to set you free," she continued to pack her toiletries and wiped her eyes.

Unable to stop her, Jacob just stood there watching her pack. Paul was standing in the doorway, perplexed.

Once she had everything she would need for the next few days, she headed to the kids' rooms and started packing a backpack for each of them.

Jacob simply stood by crying his eyes out, watching his life fall apart in front of him.

"Where are you going to go? Don't take the kids and leave me, Danni. Please. I love you guys," he pleaded with her desperately.

"Jacob, you imprinted. We are nothing to you now. So why do you care?" she said, standing resolute with the bags at her feet.

Paul gasped behind them. It was the first time either one acknowledged his presence. They both looked at him, then ignored him.

"Listen, Danni. I can't do this to you guys. I'll get some stuff and go stay at my dad's house. You guys stay here, okay? I'll come for dinner and we can talk to the kids-together," he said, attempting to be level-headed.

Gaping like a fish out of water, Paul stood there looking at them both. Danni looked at him oddly.

"What's your problem, Paul? Since when do you have nothing to say?" Jacob asked. Paul continued to stand there in silence, opening and closing his mouth. "Speak!" Jacob shouted, losing his patience.

"Oh my god! Dude, you alpha ordered me to silence!" he snipped. "Asshole," he whispered before telling them what he was trying to get out all along.

"Don't worry about the kids. Rachel is picking them both up, and then they can spend the night at our house, while you guys work this out. They'll love it. Sleepover with Aunt Rachel and Uncle Paul," Paul said, trying to help them out, but wondering if it really was a lost cause.

Danni sniffled and leaned down to grab the kids' overnight bags, handing them to Paul.

"Thanks, Paul. I'll call them later to say good night," she whispered, and then turned and went to sit on the couch.

After Paul left, Jacob slowly stepped over to the couch and attempted to sit down with Danni.

"Just go. Go now!" she yelled.

Wanting to please her, he grabbed a duffle bag and filled it with the things he would need for a few days. He packed his laptop, cell phone charger, and put his truck key in his pocket.

As he reached for the door handle, she asked the question that had haunted her since she overheard Billy and Jacob's conversations. "When were you going to bother telling me? Or were you going to wait until our marriage fell apart and we were all unhappy?"

"Despite what you think, I wanted to tell you. I didn't know how. It wasn't something I had readily accepted yet. I love you. I always have and I always will. The kids mean everything to me, and even though you think you don't, you do. Call me tonight, please," he whispered through his tears as he stepped out the door.

He sat on the step with his face in his hands. He could hear Danni crying on the couch and all he wanted was to go back inside and comfort her.


	9. A New Address

Chapter 9

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I thought this chapter was pretty emotional, so just a warning.

Eventually Jacob pulled himself together enough to drive to his dad's house. He had been standing with his face against the front door, fighting with himself about going back in the house. In the end, he decided that Danni needed time to come to terms with his "big news." He could certainly relate to that feeling.

He drove in a daze to Billy's house, and walked up the drive feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. Carrying his duffle bag, he felt like his body was itching all over. Shaking the feeling, he opened the door and went inside.

"Dad? I'm back," Jake called out.

"In my room," Billy called back.

Before going to see his dad, Jacob dropped his bag off on his old bed. Then he trudged into his dad's room, dreading the conversation they were about to have.

"Hey, dad."

"Hi, Jake. How'd she take the news? Not well, I'm guessing since you're here."

"She was packing her things when I got there. She was going to take the kids and just leave. I told her they needed to stay in the house until we got things settled."

"That's for the best. Are the kids with her now?"

"No, they're staying overnight with Paul and Rachel."

"Good. She's probably not in any state to be taking care of them. I'm sure this is going to be hard on you both. Jacob, when was the last time you phased?"

"What? Forever ago, Dad. Why?"

"You're trembling. Maybe you should go out for some fresh air," Billy suggested.

"Hmm. Maybe," Jacob considered the idea. "I might go out and clear my head. Thanks. Love you." Jacob leaned in and hugged his dad.

He headed out of the house and walked down to the beach. Sitting there contemplating his life, he heard a car pull up. He remained still and stared out at the water.

"Hey, man. How's it going?" Embry asked, sitting down beside him on the sand.

"Paul call you?"

"Yes. He was really worried about you. He didn't really give me a lot of details, but he said he'd be at your dad's house. Your dad told me you went for a walk. Thought I'd check to see if you were out here," Embry explained.

Jacob was sitting with his knees bent and feet in the sand. He dropped his face between his knees and sniffled. "Shit is seriously fucked up, Em."

"What happened?" Embry asked.

Jacob explained the whole tale from beginning to end. Embry listened to the story, asking questions here and there. Embry was supportive of his friend and was surprised that one of them had imprinted after all this time. It was unusual to say the least.

"So what are you going to do?" Embry prompted when Jacob sat silent for a few minutes.

"I don't know, yet," Jacob answered honestly. "Thanks for coming out here to talk to me."

Embry reached out and hugged Jacob, not worrying about the manly back patting that was usually required. Jacob was like a brother to him, and everyone loved him and Danni.

Jacob walked back to Billy's and checked his phone for at least the hundredth time. Danni still hadn't called. He didn't want to upset her, so he sent her a quick text telling her that he was going to bed, but she could call him any time.

After taking a long hot shower, Jacob tried to relax and go to sleep. He laid on his back, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling of his boyhood room. So much of his life had changed in this room. He lost his mother, he changed into the wolf, led a pack of teenaged shape shifters, and lost his virginity to the love of his life. He never thought he'd be back here again.

Eventually, Jacob turned on his side, facing the window, praying that things would become clear and work out for him and his family. He also prayed that Danni would calm down and call him. Again, he texted her simply saying, "I love you."

In the end, Jacob fell asleep after tossing and turning for hours and checking his phone to make sure he hadn't missed a call or text. It wasn't restful at all and when he got up in the morning, he looked like he felt-horrible.

Billy had made an extra bowl of cereal for him, when he finally came out of his bedroom. Jacob nodded to his dad and sat down sluggishly eating the cereal one bite at a time.

"I'm going to go see Danni before she goes to work," Jacob announced as he stood to put his bowl in the sink. He didn't give his dad any time to respond before he'd grabbed his keys and left the house.

Billy shook his head chuckling. He wasn't going to stop his son, but he at least wanted to let him know he was only wearing his boxers. The neighbors would get a laugh out of that. Hopefully, it was early enough that no one was outside to see Jacob anyway.

Jacob walked up to the front door and hesitated for a moment. He debated whether he should knock or just use his key to go in. Without overthinking it, he unlocked the door and went in. He walked through the house to see where Danni was. When he found her, his heart broke even more, which he didn't think was possible. She was curled up asleep on their closet floor with their wedding album in front of her on the carpet.

Carefully, Jacob lifted the album and put in back in the box. He set it back on the shelf and lifted Danni's exhausted body into his arms. The rocking chair they bought when Ryker was born was still sitting in the corner of their bedroom, so he headed that way. Her body was cradled in his arms and he held her close as tears streamed down his face. He kissed her hair and her forehead, anywhere he could reach without jostling her around too much and waking her up.

She sighed, and whimpered, "what are we gonna do, Jake?"

He looked down to see that she was still asleep. He stood and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down on her spot and pulled the blanket up over her. Then he laid on top of the covers holding her body as close to his as he could and fell back to sleep. They were both emotionally exhausted and neither stirred for hours.

It was the smell of breakfast and coffee that finally tugged Jacob from his restful sleep. When he opened his eyes, he wished that he could forget everything that had transpired. But the swollen feeling in his eyes, reminded him that this was his new reality. He looked down at his body and realized he was wearing only his boxers. Smiling at himself, he stood and walked over to his dresser, and grabbed a pair of gym shorts.

The sight before him in the kitchen took his breath away. Danni had her hair pulled up and was wearing short shorts and a tank top. On the table were pancakes, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit. Jacob eyed the food, but walked up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her body. She sagged into him and he held her tightly as she cried.

Jacob reached out and turned the burner off and moved the frying pan off the hot stove. He gently turned Danni's body around and hugged her tightly. They stayed that way, both crying for a long while. Danni finally let go and leaned back against the counter.

"We'd better eat, the food is probably cold by now," she said hoarsely.

Jacob nodded and turned around. He wasn't really hungry, but since she had gone to all that effort to make him a nice breakfast he would eat it for her. He stacked some pancakes on his plate and stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them back up. Then he divided them up between the two of them and poured syrup over them.

Danni sat down and started to eat. She picked at her food, not really hungry either. In her mind, if she cooked a nice breakfast, then everything would be okay. The reality was that even a gourmet breakfast wasn't going to change anything.

Once the food was done, they cleaned the kitchen together in silence. Danni poured 2 fresh mugs of coffee and put them on the table. Jacob sat across from her and watched her stir the cream and sugar before he cleared his throat. She looked up at him.

"I am going to go to a divorce lawyer today. I'll get everything all drawn up. If the kids and I are going to keep living here, you're going to need to find a place to live where they will have their own rooms. Unfortunately, Billy's house isn't really big enough for them to stay with you on your days. I already made payment arrangements with all of the doctors and the hospital, so once you're back to work, you should be able to afford to rent a 3 bedroom house. For now, though, you can visit them here. I'll go out and take care of errands or visit with friends so you can have your time with them," Danni announced.

Jacob only nodded his head, a giant lump stuck in his throat, preventing him from responding. He took a tentative sip of coffee and cleared his throat.

He said the only thing he felt like he could, "if that's what you want, babe, I'll get that taken care of today if I can." She nodded in affirmation and took her full mug to the sink and dumped it.

"I took the next couple of days off school so I can manage the paperwork of the divorce and talk to the kids about it. I think it's best if we're simple with them and tell them that Mommy and Daddy love them very much, but we decided it's better for us to live in different houses now," she continued as though she was explaining what the day's weather was going to be like.

Jacob couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and walked out of the room. In the living room, he grabbed the portrait from their wedding and returned with it to the kitchen.

"I promised you forever when we got married. I am not giving up on us," he declared.

Danni reached out and took the picture he was showing her. She gazed at it lovingly and rubbed her finger across the dusty glass. It was a day she would forever remember fondly.

"Forever wasn't yours to give, Jake," she said, her voice breaking.

"Don't do this, babe. Don't do this to our family. I can fight it, I can make it work," he vowed to her.

"No, Jacob! I will not let you do this to our family! I don't want the kids to see you fall out of love with me and fall in love with another woman! I want them to see the best of us both. The only way we can do that is if we split up now. I'm doing what's best for **all** of us! Can't you see that?" she demanded, staring into his eyes.

He didn't agree with her, but he didn't think he could get her to see that right now. It was all too much.

"Okay, Danni. Okay. I'm going to go back to Billy's and start looking into a rental house close by. But a _rental_ house. I'm going to give you some space for now, but it's not what I want. I want you to remember this. It isn't what I want!" he bellowed.

He started to walk out, but then changed his mind and went back to her. She didn't hug him back when he hugged her, and she didn't kiss him back when he kissed her, but he did it anyway.

Deciding that it was light enough to cause gossip in the neighborhood, he went back to his room to grab a t-shirt and shoes before going out to his truck and driving back to Billy's house.

Later that afternoon, Jacob called and cancelled the remainder of his therapy sessions. He told the receptionist that he'd found someone that was willing to come out to his home and thanked them for all they had done.

"Oh, Jake, we'll sure miss seeing you around here. We hope you're back on your feet soon," she said sweetly. "It's funny that you found someone. Bella Swan called a little while ago too and said that she had found someone that could work with her at home, too. I wonder who's in town."

"Well, thanks for everything, Penny. I gotta go now," he pressed the off button on his phone. He started wondering if his imprint had really found someone to work with her at home, or if she had been affected like he had.

Jacob had lined up a few showings of rental houses in the area for the next day with a realtor. He had the rest of the afternoon open and decided that instead of sitting at home crying, he'd head into work and see what was happening at the furniture store.

When he walked in the back door, he could overhear Paul talking with a customer. He was being overly polite and discussing what kind of furniture the person wanted. As Jacob came around the corner, he paused momentarily. The customer saw him, so there was no retreating from a conversation with him.

"Jacob! How are you doing? Good to see you on your feet! Paul, here was telling me how you'd finally finished up your physical therapy," Charlie gushed, reaching out his hand to shake Jacob's hand.

"I'm doing alright, Chief Swan. Glad to be on two feet again," he gave the man a small smile, incapable of giving anything more. "How are you?"

"Ahh, Jacob. I told you, call me Charlie. I'm doing good. Real good. Bella's walking again, driving on her own. It's nice for her to have her independence back. She's talking about trying to get a job in Seattle and I'm thinking about moving into a condo. I was talking with Paul about maybe selling some more furniture. I won't really need it in a smaller place. I offered it to Bella but she said she'd rather I used the money to buy my new place," Charlie shared.

"Is Bella still using the walker?" Jacob asked, the gears turning in his head.

"Nah. She said she finally felt strong enough and she'd been working real hard at therapy," Charlie grinned, obviously proud.

"That's great, Charlie. Of course, Paul would be real happy to help you out with the sale of some more furniture," Jacob reached out to shake his hand, so he could leave. If he had known that he would walk straight into this, he wouldn't have come to the store.

"Oh, well, does Paul know who to contact about the furniture?" Charlie asked hestitantly.

"Yes, sir. I'll make sure he has everything he needs," Jacob answered and then walked away quickly to his office. He expected his desk to be buried under six feet of paperwork, but surprisingly it wasn't.

"I hired a secretary to take care of all the mail and sort the bills out for me," Paul muttered, as he sat down in the chair on the other side of Jacob's desk. "I couldn't manage everything going in and out on my own, and I didn't want to miss any payments or have the power shut off," Paul chuckled. It had happened plenty of times at their house before Will was born, so it really wasn't a stretch of the imagination.

"That was a good idea, Paul. You don't need my permission or approval. You did what needed to be done to keep the store running. If the tables were turned, I would've done the same thing," he replied with a shrug.

"Are you really going to leave the sale of the furniture to me?" Paul asked, unsure.

"Pretty much. It's essentially already sold. The last buyers already promised top dollar if he sold anything else. I only have to email Lacey in Chicago and it's done. You can arrange the pickup and the movers. Easy enough, even you can handle it, Paul," Jacob jested.

The next day, Jacob went with the realtor to look at houses. It was something he was unhappy about for a number of reasons, including explaining to the realtor why he was looking, what he was looking for and where he wanted it to be. The biggest priority to Jacob was proximity to his family's home. He wanted to be close in case Danni or the kids needed him quickly. He was handy enough that he could fix anything up quickly, especially with his friends' and family's help. Well, his extended family that is.

The realtor's name was Brenda. Jacob hated the way she looked at him as if he were fresh meat. It was hard to explain that he was off the market when he was also explaining he was separating from his wife. He tried to reiterate to the woman that he wanted to reconcile things with his wife and that this wasn't a permanent move.

After seeing a few houses that were okay, they finally found the one that would work the best for Jacob. It was a few blocks away from his family's home and it backed up to the forest. Amazingly, it had a garage and 4 bedrooms. Jacob signed a 6 month lease that afternoon, the shortest lease the owner would accept. Jacob hoped that he would be able to find a sublet after he moved back home. He'd worry about that when it was time though.

He texted Danni that he'd found a place and sent her the address. Then he went in to work and worked on ordering furniture for the kids' bedrooms and himself. He didn't get anything too fancy, but he wanted the kids to feel comfortable whenever they were with him.

"Hey, Jake. How's it going?" Paul asked, as he made himself at home in Jacob's office. He didn't really wait for Jacob to respond. "I spoke with Lacey about the Swan furniture. I emailed her what he wanted to sell and a description of each piece, as well as his asking price. The buyers doubled his request. This is too weird."

"Paul, the buyers are the Cullens," Jacob confessed.

"As in..._the Cullens?_" he asked, shock evident in his voice.

Jacob nodded in affirmation.

"Does he know who they are?" Paul questioned.

"No, but Bella does, and she knows what they are," he told him. "I don't think she knows who bought the furniture though. I have a feeling she'd be really pissed if she knew who it was."

"What the hell is going on around here?" Paul mumbled as he walked out of the room. Paul finished making arrangements with Lacey and the movers. They were scheduled to come the following Monday to pick it up.

Jacob finished the order for the furniture and charged it to his personal credit card. He'd make enough from the sale of the Swan furniture to pay it off, as well as pay down some of his medical expenses.

A text tone alerted Jacob to a message from Danni. He looked at his phone and saw that the kids wanted to visit his new house. That lump returned to his throat and he forced a swallow down, as he stood from his desk.

"Paul, if you don't need anything, I'm taking off. Going to take the kids over to the house so they can see their new rooms," Jacob told him quietly.

"No problem. I've got everything under control here," Paul pushed Jacob toward the door, so he would leave. He knew his brother-in-law was not happy with the new living situation and showing the kids the house would make things real.

When Jacob picked the kids up, they were quiet, but happy to see him. He helped Hope into her car seat and drove the 4 streets over slowly, so the kids could see how close he was to them.

Reluctantly, he turned into his driveway and parked the truck. He got out and unsnapped Hope from her seat and lifted her out, holding her in his arms. He'd missed her and didn't want to let go of her. Ryker grabbed Jacob's free hand and held on as they walked up the steps to the strange house. Jacob put Hope down so he could unlock the front door. He opened the door and led them in the house, flipping on light switches so they could see.

"Which one will be my room, Dad?" Ryker asked.

"Which one do you like, buddy?" Jacob responded.

He took a deep breath. He didn't really want to choose a room. Choosing one made it sound like he wanted to stay here, and he didn't. Not really. Not because he didn't want to see his dad, but simply because he wanted his parents to be back together. He'd heard about divorce from his friends at school. Lots of kids at school had parents who were divorced. But their parents fought and hated each other. His parents loved each other. His mom slept on the little couch every night just so she could sleep by his dad. Wasn't that love?

Ryker had taken a long time to think about it. Jacob knelt down in front of him. He simply hugged him. He didn't have words right now that he thought would be helpful. One on hand, he didn't want to give the kids false hope about a reconciliation with him and Danni, and on the other hand, he didn't want to go against what she decided to tell them.

It was Hope who spoke up. "I like the yellow room, Daddy. If Ryker sleeps in the green bedroom, he can be right next to mine."

Ryker sniffed and wiped his nose. Jacob asked if that was okay with him. He shook his head, yes, and held tight to Jacob. He lifted both of the kids into his arms and carried them into the kitchen. He set them on the countertop and held them.

If Jacob thought picking them up and showing them the house was hard, he wasn't prepared in the least for how it would feel to drop them off with Danni. He put on the mask of the alpha that he hadn't worn in so many years, as he watched them walk into the house. He wanted to hide the pure sadness from his kids. This wasn't their fault and he didn't want them to be any more stressed than they already were.

"Love you guys! Be good for Mommy. I'll see you tomorrow after school," he called into the house. The house that was his home.

He looked at Danni, but she looked down and wouldn't make eye contact with him. When he reached a hand out to her, she turned away and shut the door.

That action had been too much and Jacob phased for the first time in years. Luckily, he'd been able to get back to Billy's house and park his car before the feeling overpowered him. He ran through the forest, heartbroken and alone. He howled to the spirits above asking for a balm to his broken heart.


	10. Some Things Explained

Chapter 10

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Don't forget I didn't promise this would be easy along the way. ;) Thanks for the positive feedback. Hope you enjoy another chapter. Follows and Favorites are greatly appreciated.**

Sunday morning, Jacob sat alone at the Forks diner eating his breakfast and reading the newspaper. The day before hadn't been as bad as he thought it would be since it was the weekend and everyone was off work. In an attempt to make life as normal as possible, his friends and their families all gathered together at Jared and Kim's house. Danni had come with the kids and everyone enjoyed the warm afternoon playing and talking in the backyard.

Jacob had managed to get Danni to the side and talk with her for a few minutes. She seemed to be more calm, but still resigned to her fate. She agreed that Sunday evenings the whole family would meet for dinner. Then she stated that would be the best way for them to trade the kids off for the week.

At least Danni had let Jacob hug her and she even lightly wrapped her arms around his waist. When some of the kids came running around the side of the house, she pulled back saying she didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea about them reconciling.

Knowing that he would be going out to dinner with them all tonight made Jacob that much more determined to talk to his wife and attempt to talk her off the proverbial ledge.

He shoveled a huge bite of his omelette into his mouth, when he looked up to see someone watching him.

Bella quickly looked away but smiled at being caught. She hadn't seen Jacob since their odd run in and they hadn't met up in their freaky dream situation either. She was still embarrassed about the dream kiss and freaked out that he knew about the Cullens.

She drank down the last bit of coffee in her cup before deciding to approach Jacob with her recent reading material.

"How's it going?" she asked, standing at the end of his small table.

"It's been better, to tell you the truth," he admitted.

"Do you mind if I join you for a few minutes?" she requested, looking around to make sure that his wife wasn't going to show up and flip out on her.

"It's fine. I'm not meeting anyone, don't worry," he said awkwardly.

"I, uh. I don't know how to start this. But I'm sorry about the other day," she looked down at her hands, resting on the books she had been reading.

Jacob noticed the titles and asked her what she was reading about, choosing not to acknowledge what happened the last time they saw each other.

She chuckled, "Um, I've been reading about Native American legends. More specifically Quileute legends. About shape shifting."

"Oh. Wow," he said, surprised.

"Yeah, well, I figured after whatever," she gestured between them with her hand, "happened, I should try to learn more."

"Have those books helped you at all?"

"Some, but most of it's just speculation. The tribes are pretty tight lipped about their traditions and customs-as I'm sure you know." They both laughed quietly.

"So, Jake. What happened to your crutches? I thought you needed to be on them a few more weeks?"

"I could say the same about you. Where's your walker?"

"Crazy, I know. I don't even know how to explain it. After I saw you last, I went home, completely freaked out. I started feeling stronger and I tried to walk on my own. I did it! I've been feeling better than I have since my accident, probably even better than that."

"Well, since you know a little about the _other_ side of me, I'll tell you that that comes with some healing properties."

"Oh my gosh! Is it contagious? Is that what made me better?"

Jacob snickered. "No, no. It's not contagious. My heritage is genetic. I don't think I know how you got better for sure." He certainly had a theory on that, but he wasn't ready to share it.

"So, Charlie is looking for a condo, huh?" he laughed softly.

"Yes, he is. I found an apartment in Seattle and I was able to pull some strings to get a job with someone my old boss knew. I'm excited for him. He's finally going to have a place that's all his own and done the way he wants it. He has to work tomorrow so I'll be there when the movers show up to get the furniture. Paul has been really helpful. I appreciate how great you guys have been with my dad."

"He seems like a good person. We treated him like we would any customer-fairly. I wish I could say that anybody else would have." Jacob sat debating whether or not to tell her who was buying the furniture. He decided that since it was essentially anonymous, he'd let her have peace.

"Paul will do a good job handling everything tomorrow. Listen, I've got to get going. I'm expecting a delivery at home myself," Jacob said, glancing at his watch.

"Oh, of course. I'm sure your wife and kids are waiting on you," she stood, smiling. "It was good to talk to you. I'll keep researching." She held up the books in her hand to indicate what she would be reading about. Jacob didn't correct her and left a tip on the table before paying the cashier and leaving.

The majority of Sunday was spent getting the furniture set up for the kids to spend the week with him at his house. He got sheets and blankets from Danni, as well as a couple of boxes of toys and stuffed animals. The living room was sparse but there was a couch, a coffee table and a TV. Having things that were familiar to the kids was important to him. He thought they were necessary to making this transition somewhat easier.

His friends had come through for him and pulled together some used kitchenware and somebody had a kitchen table and chairs they were getting rid of. Jacob wiped it down the best he could and decided the only hope for it was a tablecloth.

At 4:00, he jumped in the shower to clean himself up for dinner. He put on his jeans and a polo shirt. At the last second, he put on a little bit of the cologne Danni had given him for Christmas one year. Once last glance in the mirror and he deemed himself "good," and headed out to the car.

There weren't many restaurants around Forks and La Push, and in a way with them living so close, it seemed silly to drive 20 minutes to trade the kids. However, Jacob reminded himself that this was an opportunity to spend with his whole family.

They met at the pizza place and Jacob was already seated when the rest of them walked in. He stood and smiled widely. He grabbed each of the kids and hugged them like he hadn't seen them for a year, which it felt like. Then he turned and went to hug Danni. She carefully deflected it and sat at the opposite side of the booth. Then she patted the seat and asked Ryker to sit with her and keep her warm.

"Mommy, you know that Daddy is the best at keeping you warm," Hope said, innocently.

"He is good at keeping people warm, Hope. But I wanted to make sure I got to sit with Ryker before you guys go stay at Daddy's house for the week," she smiled at her young daughter, trying not to hurt her feelings.

They talked about their day and both parents hyped the kids up to sleeping in their new beds. Jacob assured Danni he would get the kids ready for school and drop Ryker off with her to ride to school. Technically it didn't matter what time Hope got to preschool, but Jacob would take her there before heading to work.

No one seemed to be in a rush to finish their dinner and ruin the family's time together. Yet, after they sat finished with their food, it was inevitable that they would have to go. Jacob paid for dinner, and they walked out to the parking lot. Danni grabbed the kids' things from the back of her car and handed them to Jacob. She gave them cheerful goodbyes with promises of nightly phone calls and the opportunity to have Daddy all to themselves.

Both parents left the restaurant with heavy hearts, but Jacob kept up the cheerful act for the kids.

At bedtime, he let the kids FaceTime Danni from his phone so they could show her their new beds and bedrooms. They were all tucked in with video hugs and kisses. The kids kept up a brave face, but it was hard all around.

When it was time for Jacob to go to bed, he sat on the couch watching infomercials instead. He reflected on his day and his run in with Bella at the diner. She was nicer than he thought originally, and he'd misjudged her in the beginning. Although, she had needed an attitude check, but he could understand her frustration with being dependent on someone else.

Jacob shook his head with ironic laughter. He couldn't wait until the day he was walking on his own again. Now, he hated that day with a passion.

He wondered why Bella had suddenly healed. Was it a result of their imprint? He wasn't sure, but he was going to have to meet with his dad and the elders. Now that he'd phased again, they all needed to be aware of the possibility of it happening to the others. He'd have to call a pack meeting as well.

For his first morning as a "single dad" things went fairly smooth. The kids weren't as peppy as they usually were, but both were helpful in getting things ready to go. Jacob finished getting dressed for work and announced he was ready to roll. Both kids chuckled at their father's catch phrase for leaving.

After dropping both kids off, Jacob went in to the store early. No one else was there yet, and he wanted to look through their inventory. He also wanted to start thinking about making furniture again with Paul to get some nice custom pieces back in the showroom. Since Jacob was going to have every other week free, he'd better start finding ways to keep himself busy.

It wasn't long before Paul called Jacob asking him to fill in for the Swan furniture pick up.

"Paul, you know where you're asking me to go, right?"

"Jacob, I am aware of that. That should tell you how sick Rachel and Will are, including how bad I'm feeling to ask you to go. They're both throwing up and my body is aching everywhere. I can't give this to someone. Although, it might be food poisoning," he whispered. "Don't you dare tell Rachel I said that."

"Paul, I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but I was going to call a meeting. You know, of the _guys_. I wasn't feeling so well myself the other day, and I _changed_," he hinted at what had happened, not wanting to say it outright over the phone.

"Holy crap, Jake. You…you…well you know?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes. So be careful. If you start feeling like that, go for a walk and let me know. I hope everybody feels better soon," Jacob said before he hung up.

Jacob called Kim to come and run the showroom while they were both out for the day. She'd been a great help and they liked having a feminine touch in their business. She promised Jacob she would be there in time to open the store and not to worry about a thing.

He left the store and drove over to Charlie's house. He saw a nice Jeep Wrangler sitting in front of the house, but the telltale van was absent. The easiness he felt in his chest helped him to know that Bella was definitely here. He got out and rang the doorbell.

"Jake? Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see him there.

"Sorry, Paul got sick and couldn't make it," he apologized.

"Oh, that sucks. Well, come on in. Do you know which pieces were sold?" she stepped back opening the front door widely for him to enter.

Now that he was here in the house beside her, he recognized that feeling he had the last time he was here. The vampires must have been in her house and the leftover smell was stronger than ever.

"Have you had _company_ lately?" he asked emphasizing that particular word.

"What?! No. At least, I don't think so," she said, then spun around looking like a vampire would jump out from behind the curtains. "Why? What makes you ask that?"

Jacob glanced around nervously. "Do you mind if I take a look around?" He waited for her to nod her head before he took off up the stairs and inspected each room.

Bella stood nervously at the bottom of the stairs, her heart pounding in her chest. She had gotten a little spooked last night after reading all of those books on Native American stories. In the middle of the night, she could have sworn she felt someone watching her. But when she turned the light on everything looked normal, as far as she could tell.

When Jacob came down the stairs, he didn't say anything to her. He walked out the back door and into the yard. Bella rushed to the kitchen window to see if she could tell what he was doing, but he walked back in before she could see anything.

"When was the last time you had any contact with the Cullens?" Jacob asked outright.

"Um, well, when I came back to Washington I told them I didn't want any contact with them again. Why were they here?" She looked terrified. "Or was it somebody else?"

"I don't know for sure. It's been a long time since I had anything to do with them and it wasn't exactly a time I wanted to get close. They smell awful to my wolf, so I tried to stay downwind."

The doorbell rang and Bella jumped and squealed a little. Then she snickered and said, "Like I should worry about anything that uses the doorbell."

Jacob followed her to the door and began discussing arrangements with the movers. He showed them the pieces they would be taking this time, and then he followed them to make sure everything was done correctly. Again, their professionalism was perfect. They finished quickly and Jacob signed the paperwork to send them off.

He called Charlie to let him know everything had gone well and that they would have a check for him as soon as they received the transfer. Charlie thanked him again for his help and said he couldn't wait to get started living in his bachelor pad.

Laughing to himself, Jacob hung up the phone and turned to see Bella staring pensively out the window to the backyard.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Uh. Yeah. Sure," she said. Then she looked up at him with her eyes filled with tears and a look of sheer terror on her face. "They warned me when I left. They warned me that I would never be safe without them, but I didn't listen. I was so wrapped up in wanting to have my own space that I didn't listen to their advice." Her body was trembling and she began crying in earnest.

Jacob helped her to sit on the couch and simply listened to her, as she reflected on her own stupidity and naivety of her youth. Why did she get mixed up with vampires of all things? Now she couldn't get away from her past as much as she wanted to.

"When are you supposed to be in Seattle? Can you postpone it? Work from home?" He asked her.

"I have a week. Oh my gosh! I shouldn't go. I should quit my new job!" she began getting hysterical.

Jacob reached out to place his hand on top of hers. When his skin made contact, they both jerked apart.

"Again. I felt that again," she whispered, looking up at Jacob's shocked expression. "I know you felt that zap. What was that?"

"There's a lot of things I need to explain to you. What do you have planned for today?" he asked.

"This was all I had to do. I was going to pack some things for Seattle," she answered.

Jacob rubbed his hands over his face. His wolf was itching to get out. There was no way he could drive back to La Push without taking a run first.

"I'll have you follow me to my dad's house, but first I've got to step out for some fresh air. Stay inside. You'll be fine, I promise. I'll be back in 15 or 20 minutes," he said, as he stood, heading for the back door. He made a beeline for the woods and within seconds is on four feet running through the woods following a scent. It seems fresh, not years old. Jacob still isn't sure if it's the Cullens or not, but he follows it for a ways before turning around and running back to the Swan house.

Jacob puts his clothes back on before jogging back up to the house. Bella has her jacket and shoes on, with her purse over her shoulder, ready to leave the house.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yep," Jacob answered. "Did you get another new car?"

"I didn't need that van anymore, so I traded it for my Jeep. Do you like it?"

"It's pretty nice. That's a $40,000 car, though, you know?" he teased.

"Oh, trust me. I know," she said seriously.

On the way to his dad's house, Jacob called Kim to ask about the store. She said things had been quiet for the most part and she was fine without him. Then he called his dad and prepared him for their arrival. Billy assured him that he would be there and that he would do his best to explain the legends to Bella. Billy told Jacob that he would talk about imprinting, but he refused to tell Bella that she was Jacob's imprint.

He knew it was his place to tell her about it, but he wasn't looking forward to that part of the story. However, there was no way he would go on without telling her about it. Danni had taught him that much. A mistake that he'd try not to make again.

He was saddened at the thought of Danni but was scared as well. He didn't want her traipsing around town unaware of vampire activity, especially with the kids. After she got home that night, he'd call her and talk to her about everything.

If the other wolves started phasing again, they'd have to set up a patrol rotation. With Danni and the kids living on the res, he thought they'd be okay as long as they were there. But when Ryker and Danni went to school, that was in Forks. They would need protection while they were there. He'd have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he had another task before him.

The drive was over before Jacob was ready, but he switched the engine off and got out. Bella pulled up beside him, and walked around her Jeep to meet him. She brushed her hands anxiously on her jeans and followed Jacob up the ramp and into the house.

Bella sat enchanted by Billy's stories for several hours. She asked a number of questions, but sat quietly for the most part. The books she had purchased left out about 90% of what Billy had told her. When he was done, Jacob put a plate of sandwiches on the table with a pitcher of tea and cups of ice. They ate lunch quietly before Billy excused himself from the room, citing exhaustion and naptime.

Staring at her hands, Bella finally asked why Jacob brought her there to hear the legends.

"I'm an outsider, Jake. I shouldn't really hear all this stuff. I mean, I know about the Cullens, but that doesn't mean you guys have to disclose your 'trade secrets' to me," she said, as she held up her fingers to put air quotes around the words.

"Well, yes, you knowing about the Cullens is part of it. It's not the most important part. I am amazed at how you took all of that stuff, though. You're definitely good with weird. I hope that helps with this next part," he began, unsure.

"You heard the part about imprinting, right?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Well, I imprinted on you," he said, looking away from her.

She sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. Her mouth opened a couple of times, but then she'd close it.

At last, the words came to her. "But, Jake, you're married with a family."

"That part isn't in the legends, either," he admitted.


	11. We Need to Talk

Chapter 11

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is shorter than the last couple of chapters, but if felt like the right place to stop. Thanks for the reviews, faves and follows. They're appreciated.

"So, what does it mean? To be imprinted?" Bella asked.

Jacob shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "You heard my dad's stories. It's how a wolf finds his mate, at least that's what we thought."

"I'm not sure what to say. Does your wife know about all this stuff?"

"Yes. Danni knows everything."

"The imprint?" Bella pressed.

"Yeah, that too," Jacob breathed. He turned around and placed his folded hands on the table in front of him. It was a lame attempt to ground himself before he told her the rest. "She wants a divorce. She told me that she can't fight fate and that she promised herself if this ever happened she wouldn't get in the way of my happiness."

"You don't look real happy," Bella said seriously.

"I'm not. I'm so mixed up inside. I phased for the first time in years. I think the others are going to begin phasing too. I love my wife and kids, but then I wonder what all of this means. When I first phased and learned about imprinting, I always wondered if I had one and what she'd be like. A couple of the other wolves imprinted and they were blissfully happy."

"But, you were already happy with your wife, weren't you? I'm ruining that," she stood, looking dejected. Then she grabbed her purse and headed toward the door.

"Bella, wait. Listen, I'm not sure what all this means, or even what the dreams meant, but I think we were brought together for a reason. Right now, I can say for sure a vampire has been in your house recently. I don't know if it is a Cullen or not," Jacob said.

They were standing in front of each other by the front door only a foot or so between them. Bella stared at Jacob, feeling so unsure as always. Here she'd met someone that made her feel safe for the first time in forever, and according to legend, she was his soulmate. Yet, she felt like she was ruining his life instead. His wife was a lucky woman and if the roles were reversed, Bella knew she wouldn't give up on him. She would fight for him.

The unwavering eye contact did things to Jacob that he didn't really like at the moment. He found himself drawing closer to her and noticing the small flecks in her pretty brown eyes and how when she was nervous, she chewed the corner of her lip and twisted her fingers. They were standing even closer now and she could feel the heat rolling off his body.

"Do you have a fever?" she questioned softly.

"No. It's just a wolf thing," he whispered back, enchanted by her.

She blushed at his nearness and looked down at the floor to break what seemed like a trance between them. Jacob slowly reached out to lift her face back to his when he was interrupted by his father.

"Jake? Can you come give me a hand?" Billy called out loudly from his room.

Bella glanced back that direction and her heart started racing at the thought of being caught in a comprising situation with a married man, imprint or not.

"I better go," she whispered.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Be careful. If you need anything, if you see _anything_, call me. And, uh, think about staying close until we know more about your visitor. I can't protect you in Seattle."

"You want to protect me?" she asked, slightly surprised.

"Bella, if the legends are correct, if you die, I die," he told her.

"JACOB!" Billy called louder.

"I'll be careful. See you later," Bella turned and dashed out into the rain and her Jeep. Jacob watched her as she backed out and pulled away.

"Dad, I know you don't need help getting out of bed," Jacob called as he walked into his father's bedroom to find him sitting perfectly fine in his wheelchair.

"It got quiet out there and I didn't want you to do anything you might regret later," Billy smiled sheepishly.

Jacob reached out and patted his dad's shoulder. "Thanks, dad. I need to meet with the council and the pack. Do you think you could arrange that for this weekend? They need to know that I've phased again, that I imprinted, and there's the possibility of having old and new wolves phase. Also, I smelled vampire activity in Bella's house and in the woods behind their house."

"I don't like any of this, Jake. Something is coming. I can feel it in my body."

A few hours later, Jacob brought the kids back to hang out with his dad while he went to talk to Danni. He didn't call her first because he figured she wouldn't let him come. This was a life or death matter, though.

She was waiting for him at the door when he walked up the sidewalk.

"Where are the kids?" she asked looking at his truck.

"They're with my dad. I need to talk to you. It's really important," he explained.

"Okay. Come in, I'll make us something to drink," she said with a look of surprise.

They settled at the kitchen counter on the stools. Jacob looked at his glass of ice water and slowly spun it in a circle. Danni had gotten a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge and set her glass on the counter to pour herself some. The glass started to slip and she watched with horror anticipating its crash on the floor.

Instead, Jacob set it back on the counter, and leaned over to grab a rag to pick up the ice from the floor.

"How'd you do that?" she asked, stunned at the speed of his reaction.

"I told you, I needed to talk to you. Look, I'm not thirsty. Please just sit down and listen," he pleaded with her.

"I'm listening," she said, as she sat and turned to face him, the man she had loved her entire adult life. She missed him terribly and hated sleeping alone at the house without him and the kids. Her thoughts were quickly brought back to Jacob when he started talking.

"First off, I phased again. Secondly, you know that Paul and Rachel have that stomach virus? Today, I had to go back to the Swan's house for the furniture pickup," he started.

"Of course you did," she muttered, only loud enough for his wolf senses to pick up.

"Danni, please don't be like that. I tried to arrange it so Paul would be there. He was sick and so are Rachel and Will. You're friends with her, you should know that," he looked imploringly at her. Finally, she nodded in agreement.

"Anyhow, when I got there, I noticed that it smelled weird. I searched the whole house and her bedroom was reeking of fresh vampire. The rest of the house had a light scent, like it was leftover from another time. Eventually, my wolf couldn't take it anymore and I had to phase. I went and ran in the woods and could smell a trail away from her house."

"It's important to me that you and the kids are safe. I don't want you making unnecessary trips off the res. I think you are safe here at the house," he stopped as he saw the expression on her face-a mix of shock and terror.

"That was the first time you phased again?" she asked quietly.

Jacob waited and swallowed thickly. He didn't want to make her feel bad, but he realized that he had to be honest with her.

"No. It wasn't," he said.

"When?"

He took a deep breath and answered her, "I phased for the first time after you shut the door in my face and wouldn't listen to me."

She immediately broke down in tears.

"Babe, it's not your fault. It was there under the surface. I should've let the wolf out sooner, I was ignoring the feeling. I didn't want to phase again. I didn't want to imprint. I thought that part of my life was over and done with. But the fact is those things did happen."

"Bella isn't safe. The vampires are here because of her and I have to find out why. I have to know because I need to keep you and the kids, as well as the whole tribe safe."

She sniffled and nodded her head, reaching out to grab a napkin to wipe her drippy nose. Jacob reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Danni looked up to his beautiful face. Her eyes searching his to see if he still loved her. She saw that the love for her was still there, but knew in her heart it would never be the same.

When Danni didn't look away, Jacob took this as a sign. He reached down and pulled her stool closer to his. Her body was between his knees. He caressed her thighs with his warm palms. Both of their heartbeats sped up. Looking into her eyes, he very slowly leaned toward her hoping that she would let him kiss her like he wanted to. Their lips met and he wrapped his fingers in her long hair. She deepened the kiss and kissed him with her whole heart. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he moved his hands down her body.

Jacob stood and wrapped her legs around his waist. He practically ran with her to their bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Neither broke the kiss and they both worked to pull each other's clothes off.

Danni kissed all over Jacob's body and he closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling. As he laid there, his mind went to the day's events and finally, his desire was completely gone. He enfolded Danni in his arms and held her next to him on the bed.

"You don't want me anymore, do you?" she sniffled.

"It's not that. I have a lot on my mind right now. Having to be separated from you and the kids, while worrying about vampires being in town, is making it hard to focus on that," he tried to reassure her. He kissed her hair softly, wishing he could give her what she desired right now.

It was frustrating because the man and the wolf were not on the same page right now. Jacob, the man, wanted to love his wife and make love to her right now. The wolf, however, wanted other things. Its focus on protecting the tribe and Bella. The wolf didn't dislike Danni or the kids, it just preferred Bella.

The couple just laid wrapped in each other's arms both wondering what was to come of their lives. Jacob hated that he felt terrified of the unexpected.

"I love you, Jake," she said and planted soft kisses on his chest before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Sadly, it was Jacob's stomach that insisted that he get up. He wanted to stay in bed with Danni forever, but he figured the loud growling was going to wake her soon. He carefully untangled himself from her and placed a barely there kiss on her arm before putting it down on the bed.

He searched through the pantry and fridge to find something he could put together for dinner. There wasn't much food there so he made soup and salad plating it up so he could bring it to Danni. Before he took the food, he called Billy to make sure the kids were okay. Jared and Kim brought their kids over to play and Kim was making grilled cheese for dinner.

Carefully balancing the plates and bowls, Jacob made his way to the bedroom. Danni was pulling herself up and fluffing pillows to lean against the headrest. They ate in silence for a while.

"Thanks, Jake," she said.

"You're welcome. Kim and Jared said they'd keep Hope and Ryker for the night if we want," he suggested hopefully.

Danni stirred her soup and considered the idea.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she said, softly with a hint of sadness in her voice. The soup and salad had lost its appeal and she placed the bowl on the plate and left them on the nightstand.

"I wish I could say I understand, but I don't. I'll respect your wishes, though," he said, resigned.

She reached out and caressed Jacob's hair with her hand. She ran her hand down his neck, to his chin and turned his face to hers. Leaning forward, she kissed him with her entire heart.

"Let's not do this again, Jake. I can't take it," she whispered, heart-broken.

"That's a promise I refuse to make," he said.

"If you love me, like you say you do, you will," she looked up at him teary. Then she stood and grabbed her clothes getting dressed, and leaving the room with all of the dishes in her hands.

"Danni, promise me you will be careful and let me know if anything seems out of the ordinary," Jacob said to her from the living room.

She turned from the kitchen sink. "I will, Jake. I promise."

Hesitantly, Jacob walked out the door. He didn't leave until he had done a circuit of his yard verifying there was not a hint of vampire anywhere around. He gave one last longing look at his home before getting in his truck and driving to his dad's house for his children.


	12. A Surprise Guest

Chapter 12

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Had it belonged to me, Edward wouldn't have returned and Bella would be Bella Black.

Thanks for reading. I just want to remind you that this is a BxJ story. I'm trying to build the story and I think that if you're a Jake fan, as I am, you see that he has good character and wouldn't be a guy to just drop his wife and move on. However, some things just weren't meant to be. Enjoy!

Since Paul already knew that Jacob had phased, he met him at the store the next morning to talk. There weren't any customers at all in the store as it was a Tuesday morning, so they sat on a couple of couches and talked things out. Jacob rehashed the events of the last few days with Paul.

Both agreed that the likelihood of more wolves phasing was high. Now that Paul was aware, he recognized the changes in his body. Jacob knew that waiting until Saturday was too long to talk to his pack. They were going to need to meet that night. He started texting everyone asking them to meet at his house for dinner around 6. Ryker and Hope would love to see their uncles anyhow.

Sitting back against the couch, Jacob stared at the ceiling. He wished that he had slept better the night before, but he hadn't. The nap he took with Danni was great, but once he was in his bed alone his mind swirled around.

None of this made sense. When Jacob met Charlie, he made it sound like his daughter might not survive. But when he talked to Bella about it, she made it sound like a klutzy accident on the stairs that resulted in her broken bones. In their shared dream, she mentioned having nightmares about the vampires fighting over her. They bought Charlie's furniture for an insane amount of money and went to great lengths to be discreet. They could've just written Bella a check. Something didn't add up.

If the Cullens were living with Bella like a "normal" family, why would they follow her everywhere? They seemed to try to let her have some semblance of a normal existence, so what was Jacob missing in all of this?

Grunting, he stood and headed to the workshop part of the store. As he got to the door, he called out to Paul where he would be. Paul told him he was good and he'd let him know if he needed him.

Jacob looked over some design plans for furniture orders Paul had taken. Paul had finished some pieces they had due before Jacob's accident, but he declined new orders until Jacob was back to work. There was an order for a custom dresser and chest, so Jacob decided to get to work on the dresser. He buried himself in the work and enjoyed how keeping his hands busy, kept his mind silent. He had to focus on precision cuts and measuring, there was no room for error. They used quality woods, not your standard home improvement store variety, and making mistakes cost them money. All of the large pieces were cut for both pieces and sorted into two areas when Kim came back with a plastic bag and big cup.

"I come with food, Mr. Home Improvement," she giggled, holding the food out to him.

"Thanks, Kim. I lost track of time," he said, glancing at the clock to see it was already 1:30 in the afternoon. He carried the bag to a table and went to wash his hands before eating. Sawdust did not make an appetizing condiment.

"Paul asked me to pick something up for you on my way in. He said he didn't want you to get too hungry, because you can be difficult to deal with," she laughed heartily, and quickly left the room.

In the bag were several Chinese takeout containers. Jacob ate heartily, not caring too much about what he was shoving down his throat. The wolf part of him required sustenance and his stress level kept him from eating enough. In a few minutes the food was gone and Jacob washed his hands again before getting back to work on his projects.

Around 3:00, Paul stepped into the workshop and looked over the work Jacob had done. They talked about the next steps and then Paul reminded Jacob he had to pick the kids up from school.

Jacob cleaned off and headed to Hope's preschool first and then went to get Ryker from school. Danni was in her classroom working at her desk when Jacob walked by to go to after-care. Hope was ecstatic to see her mom, so Jacob left her there while he went to get Ryker. The kids visited for a few more minutes, while Jacob stood unsure in the doorway. Finally, he told them they needed to get groceries for their uncles to come for dinner. Each of them gave Danni a long hug and then Jacob grabbed their hands and walked them out to the parking lot.

Before he got in, he took his phone out and texted Danni to be safe. He thought she should take any work home and not be alone at school like she had done so often in the past. She texted back quickly that she would go home soon.

Taking 2 kids to the grocery store close to dinner time, Jacob soon realized was a terrible idea. The kids were hungry and wanted everything in sight. Eventually, he gave them both a couple of slices of cheese from the deli to hold them over until dinner. He decided the easiest dinner to make would be spaghetti and meatballs. So he got several boxes of pasta, sauce and a huge bag of frozen meatballs.

"Wait, Daddy! Garlic bread!" Hope exclaimed.

"Lots of garlic! Mmm. Keeps the vampires away," Ryker teased his sister.

The joke caught Jacob off guard and he froze for a second, looking down at his son.

"What? That's what they say on Scooby-Doo!" he laughed. "Besides, garlic breath keeps everybody away. Yuck!" He waved his hand in front of his nose to exaggerate his point.

Jacob ruffled his son's hair and continued to the frozen foods section. The off the cuff comment was completely untrue, but was strangely timed for the discussion he planned on having tonight.

After paying for the food, Jacob promised a special treat-a video rental. They went to the rental machine near the door and found a movie both kids were willing to watch. None of the adults wanted the kids to hear the evening's topic of discussion.

They drove past what Jacob would keep calling home and saw that Danni still wasn't there. When they got in the house with the groceries, Jacob texted her to make sure that she was all right and would be headed home soon.

"Just picking up some take-out for dinner and then I'll be home," she replied.

Hope helped Jacob pour the sauce into the pan to warm up and Ryker poured the pasta into the stock pot when the water started boiling. Then the kids pulled out a stack of paper plates, plastic forks and napkins, while Jacob put the meatballs in the oven. There weren't enough chairs in the house, so Jacob figured everyone could sit on the couch and floor.

When the guys started showing up, they all sat around eating and chatting. They still enjoyed getting together, even though it wasn't as often as everyone would like with their busy lives.

They continued their teasing and banter while Jacob got the kids ready for bed and put them in his bed to watch their movie. They were very excited as this wasn't something they got to do before. Jacob felt a little guilty about having the TV keep them occupied, but the last thing he wanted was them to overhear anything they talked about.

"Thanks a lot for coming, guys. I was going to meet with you and the council this weekend, but I felt that there were things you needed to know now. We've got to keep it down so the kids don't hear it, though."

They all shook their heads and agreed, turning their bodies so they were giving Jacob their full attention. He shared with them what had emerged in the recent past and forewarned them about the possibility of shifting again. He also made sure they knew to be on the lookout for new wolves.

The men all sat around discussing different theories and plans, as well as analyzing every ache and pain they'd had over the last month to figure out if they were going to phase. It was a collective agreement that they probably would all be able to phase again soon.

Lastly, they discussed Bella Swan. As Jacob's imprint, her safety was of vital importance. They would have to include her in pack decisions and that started with the meeting with the council that weekend. She needed to meet everyone, so she would know who the trustworthy people were. Paul suggested that Billy invite Charlie over to go fishing, as Paul revealed how the two had gotten familiar the night Paul failed to pick up Billy. Jacob glared at Paul and he apologized profusely.

If Billy was able to lure Charlie around, they might be able to keep Bella around as well. Jacob mentioned the job she got in Seattle and they all hoped that she would find a way to stay in Forks for the time being.

Jacob's phone rang and he looked at the caller ID. They looked at him, seeing how it was pretty late to be receiving a phone call.

"It's her," he whispered.

"Bella, hey, is everything okay?" he asked.

Her voice was frantic and she responded, "No! No, things are not okay! Jake, I'm scared! I'm really scared!"

He told her he would be there as soon as he could and headed toward the door. He turned back to his friends and they all waved him off, while Paul and Sam stood telling him they would be behind him with a car.

Jacob tore out the back door to the woods, dropping his clothes on the grass as he ran. As soon as he hit the woods, he was flying on four paws. His body was stretching out and his claws dug into the damp earth. He pushed his body as fast as he could through the woods to Bella's house.

When he got closer, the smell hit him. It was saturated in the forest that lined her backyard. He hadn't really thought this through when he left his house without any clothes. Carefully, he made his way to the house, staying in the shadows. His ears were tuned to the house. He could hear Bella's heart racing, but other than that she was quiet. The lamp was on upstairs and the rest of the house was dark. Charlie's cruiser was gone, but her Jeep was sitting in the gravel drive in front of her house. He phased back to his human form and knocked on the back door. He could hear Bella's heart stutter and then speed up.

"Bella, it's me!" he called loudly enough for her to hear. When he could hear her footsteps getting closer to the door, he grabbed the door handle so she couldn't open it.

"Jake? Why are you holding the door?" she asked.

"Bella, I need a blanket or something," he told her, wishing he hadn't been so hasty.

"Why? Are you cold? Let me open the door. Are you okay?" she asked, tugging the door handle. She yanked as hard as she could and popped the door open a couple of inches.

That was all the opening she needed to get a full view of the reason Jacob needed a blanket.

"Oh my god!" she shrieked, before letting go of the door and covering her eyes. She turned around muttering to herself about not being so damn stubborn all of the time.

A blanket was thrust out the door and as soon as Jacob covered himself, he went in the house.

"What happened?" he asked her, all the while walking upstairs where his nose was leading him.

"I was sleeping and I felt a breeze on my face. I know it sounds weird. But when I went to sleep it was raining, so I closed my window. The next thing I know, I feel a breeze and I see my curtains blowing in my room," she said.

Bella looked at Jacob, with a scared expression, and she shifted nervously from foot to foot. Her eyes would dart between him and the window, wondering what the hell had happened. He walked around the room, inhaling deeply, so he could memorize the scent of the cold one that dared to enter her room. Then he looked out the window into the dark night. Nothing caught his eye as unusual. He rubbed his hands all over the window frame, leaving his own scent there. The wolf would have happily marked his territory, but the man didn't think the human would appreciate that. Then he closed and locked the window.

Casually, he sat down in a rocking chair she had in her room, shifting side to side to rub some more of his scent around her room. If the vamp came back, it should know that Bella was under protection of something stronger than it.

Bella sat nervously on her bed, glancing down at her own skimpy sleeping attire. She was so scared when she called Jacob that it didn't even occur to her to cover herself. Now that he was here, wearing only her quilt, she felt a little uncomfortable. Jacob saw her shiver, so he grabbed a sweatshirt off the pile of laundry next to him and tossed it to her. Thankful, she tugged it over her head and pulled her feet up under her.

"I don't think I can sleep in this room ever again," she said as she trembled again.

"Do you think it's the Cullens?" Jacob asked her.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like something they would do. Even though I told them I didn't want to see them again, it still doesn't seem like something they would do. They would just ignore me and show up at the door demanding to talk to me," she told him.

"Do you remember your nightmares?"

"I remember waking up terrified," she told him.

"I was thinking that maybe your nightmares are trying to tell you something. If you can, try to pay closer attention to them and if you remember anything when you first wake up, jot it down. I think there might be some things you've forgotten since your accident. They might be significant to us."

"Okay, Jake. I'll try," she bobbed her head. "I guess since I'm done sleeping for the night, I can start sifting the want ads for a new job."

There was a car outside and Jacob heard their voices, so he warned Bella they were about to get company. He went downstairs to let Paul and Sam into the house. They went upstairs and while they couldn't smell like Jacob could, they could feel that flittery sensation Jacob had mentioned having the first time he was at Bella's house.

"Bella, why don't you pack a bag and come stay on the res tonight? What time does Charlie get off work?" he asked her.

"I don't know for sure. He went in late, around 9, said he was going to fill in for one of the deputies who got sick. I don't know if I feel comfortable staying at somebody's house I don't know. I can't intrude," she hesitated on his offer.

"You aren't intruding and all of us would feel a lot better if you were close," he assured her.

She looked around her room and determined that any place was better than her room right now.

"What about my dad, though? I don't want anything to happen to him," she worried.

"Your dad will be okay. The vamp didn't go anywhere else in the house. I don't think they were looking for a meal. I think they were here to check on you," he told her.

Sighing, she pulled a backpack from her closet and packed a few things, as well as her ipad, phone and a toiletry bag from her desk top.

"I need to change clothes," she said, looking a little embarrassed.

The men stepped out of her room, but Jacob stayed with his back against the bedroom door. The wolf was not happy about leaving her alone when a vampire had been in her room. He didn't understand the need for privacy because he thought her body was beautiful. Jacob swallowed that feeling back. She was beautiful, but this was not the time to be thinking of how her full breasts had hardened when he looked at them. Nor should he be thinking of how his wolf wanted to roll all over her bed simply to leave his scent behind to ward off other males.

Finally, she came out with her things dressed in running pants and the sweatshirt, with her hair pulled back in a tidy ponytail.

"My shoes are downstairs," she said, pointing to the hallway. Sam and Paul went down the stairs first and Jacob turned off her light, then followed Bella down the stairs. She slipped on her sneakers and grabbed a pair of boots before gesturing to the front door. Jacob did a quick sweep of the downstairs, making sure that all windows and doors were locked before they left.

They stepped out on the small front porch and Bella locked the door. Sam and Paul sat in the front of Sam's SUV and Jacob and Bella sat in the backseat. Jacob still had the blanket wrapped around him and he couldn't believe that neither man had made a crack about his clothing.

As they drove back to La Push, they all kept their eyes on the forest. Bella looked out, knowing that her eyesight wasn't good enough to see more than 10 feet from the moving car in the dark. Jacob's eyes darted around watching carefully.

Bella's hand reached out and rested on Jacob's knee and his hand soon rested on top of hers, patting it lightly every few minutes.

When the group pulled in to Jacob's house, they were met by the others who wanted to know what all had happened. They were surprised to see Bella get out of the SUV with them and follow Jacob nervously into the house.

Jacob introduced her to all of the men and she shook each of their hands. After they had all said hello, they backed away.

"Gosh, now I feel like a little kid," she chuckled, noticing the disparate differences in their heights. They all chuckled with her.

Once the story was retold and plans were made for Jacob to patrol, Jacob made them all promise to check in with him daily about how they were feeling and anyone they were concerned could phase. They shook his hand and hugged Bella promising her that they would protect her.

Jacob and Bella stood awkwardly in the living room before Jacob finally offered to make Bella a bed in the guest room. It was designed to be an office, so it was away from the other bedrooms at least. He wasn't sure if he wanted to share with his kids that she was there yet.

An air mattress, a couple of sheets and a pillow later, a bed was ready for Bella. Jacob had changed back into his clothes and came in holding Bella's blanket.

She laughed and took it from him, spreading it out over her bed.

"It's a good thing we brought that because I don't have any more blankets here," he joked. Bella blushed remembering why he needed the blanket to begin with. The man had an awesome body and it was something she wouldn't be able to get out of her memory any time soon.

"Listen, Danni takes Ryker to school in the morning and this is something I'd like to explain to her myself. So if you don't mind, I'd kind of like to…" he stammered unsure of how to spit out what he wanted to tell her.

"How about you send me a text when it's safe to come out?" she finished, understanding what he needed from her.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it," he said, before turning and heading to bed.

Bella slept better than she had in weeks, even though she was on a squeaky air mattress. She didn't have any nightmares and slept soundly. Part of her worried that she would wake the whole house after waking up screaming, like she had with Charlie so many times. He was used to it at this point, and didn't come running anymore.

Jacob got the kids up and ready for school, asking them about the movie they had watched the previous night. The kids laughed and joked about their favorite parts and begged Jacob to keep it another night so they could watch it again.

As they were getting ready to walk out the door, Ryker remembered he forgot something he wanted to take to school. He rushed back to the guest bedroom and flung the door open. He gasped when he saw the woman sleeping on the floor and quickly grabbed his book before racing out to the truck.

Danni met Jacob outside, kissing Hope in her car seat and hugging Ryker good morning. She opened the trunk for Ryker to put his backpack in and Jacob lifted her rolling crate in for her. He asked her if everything was okay and then said something came up last night and he needed to talk to her about it after work. She agreed easily.

As they got into the car, Ryker called out, "Hey, Dad! Who was that woman sleeping in the guest room?"

Danni glared at him, as he stood gaping like a fish out of water. Danni told Ryker to get in the car before she was late and he slowly got in, not taking his eyes off his father.

Carefully, she backed the car out of the driveway and rolled the window down when she got to Jacob.

"Real nice, Jake," she sneered before driving off to school.

"Fuck!" Jacob swore as he walked back to his truck to take Hope to preschool.


	13. Getting to Know You

Chapter 13

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Ms. Meyer.

You guys are getting fired up now. It's interesting to see the divide of opinions on Danni. I tried to write her as a likeable character, because why would Jake be with a bitchy woman? Anyhow, back to the story! Enjoy!

Jacob stomped back to his truck and got in the driver's seat. He stopped himself from driving away furious because his daughter was in the backseat. Instead, he took his phone out and sent Danni a text.

_**Please give me a chance to explain before you jump to conclusions. Be safe. **_

Once he had his temper under control, he drove Hope to preschool and went back to his house. When he opened the front door, he followed the sound of Bella's heartbeat to the kitchen. She was standing at the sink washing the pots and pans from the previous night's spaghetti dinner.

"Oh, jeez. Bella, you don't have to do my dishes," he said, feeling embarrassed at the mess.

"I needed to keep myself busy. I'm sorry to intrude," she looked at him, her face expressing her own discomfort.

"You aren't intruding. I don't want you to feel like you have to clean up after me is all," he explained. "Let me finish at least."

She grinned as she looked in the sink. There was only one pot and a few serving utensils left. "How about I wash and you dry and put away?" she offered.

"All right," he compromised, grabbing a dish towel and walking over to the sink. Once he glanced in, he saw that almost everything was washed any way. He shrugged it off. If she really liked cleaning that much, more power to her.

They worked in silence for a little bit, until Jacob's stomach growled loudly.

Bella looked at him with surprise written all over her face. When they made eye contact, she laughed. "Hungry or something?"

"Definitely," he admitted.

"Let me make you breakfast. It's the least I can do for letting me stay here last night. I'm sure it's going to cause grief for you," she insisted. Little did she know her company was already creating trouble. However, he knew that her being slaughtered by vampires would bring an even bigger mess.

"I don't think I have much more than cereal around here," he told her.

She hummed and asked if she could look through his pantry to see what she could find. He gave her permission and said he was going to go wash up for the day.

Once he was in the shower, all he could think of was this turn of events. His wife furious with him over nothing and his imprint was in the kitchen making his breakfast. He would take advantage of this uninterrupted time to get to the bottom of some mysteries. Then he'd make arrangements for someone to watch the Hope and Ryker in order to talk to Danni that night. Most importantly, he needed to talk to Ryker about what he saw. His young son didn't understand how marriage worked and wouldn't make any assumptions like his wife.

Jacob finished up in the shower and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before returning to the kitchen. He was surprised to see that Bella had put together a decent breakfast for them. They had eggs, some fried ham and homemade biscuits. He had all these ingredients? He needed to rethink his pantry, maybe download a cookbook app on his phone.

"Wow. This looks good," he smiled slightly at Bella as he sat at the table.

"Good. I'm glad. You have _so_ many options," she joked. "There wasn't any jam for the biscuits, so it'll have to be butter."

Bella put a little of the food on her plate and pushed the rest toward Jacob.

"You aren't hungry?" he questioned her. He had piled food on his plate and her eyes widened at the small mountain.

"Oh, I'm hungry, I'm just not a pig," she smirked.

"A pig?" he scoffed. "I am no such thing. I'm bigger and meaner. I'm a wolf."

They both laughed at his statement.

"Will I ever get to see your wolf?" she asked innocently.

Immediately, Jacob started coughing, choking on a bite of food at the unexpected request. No one had ever asked to see their wolves. There were only 3 other imprints but they didn't want anything to do with that side of their men. Bella stood and began beating on his back.

"Don't," he choked out.

She pulled her hands back quickly. "Oh gosh, did I hurt you?"

"No," he finally laughed. "You're more likely to hurt your hand though. Sorry about that, you took me off guard."

"Are you not yourself when you're, you know, changed?" she asked him, curious.

"My mind is all there if that's what you mean. It wouldn't be unsafe for you to be near me if I was already changed. The wolf would never hurt you. He adores you," he answered without fully thinking.

Bella's face turned a bit pink, and in an attempt to hide her new shade, she stood with the plates to the sink.

"Leave them," Jacob told her. "Let's go sit in the living room and talk for a bit. I'd like to ask you some things."

Bella followed Jacob into the room and they sat at opposite ends of the couch. Bella pulled her legs up and leaned against the arm facing Jacob.

One of the first things Jacob told Bella was about Ryker seeing her there that morning, and him asking about it in front of Danni. Bella was mortified at the implication, but Jacob assured her he would talk to Danni and fix things.

He also offered to have his dad contact the Cullens to see if they were in the area. At first, Bella was adamant that he not call because she didn't want them to know she was home. In the end, she conceded Jacob's point that the needed to try to rule the family out as the visitors in her room. She told him she didn't want anyone to mention her by name, only that wolves had shifted and scents were found on patrol.

Bella tried to convince Jacob that he should let her stay somewhere else so that she wouldn't cause him problems with his family. He refused, stating that since he was the only wolf at the moment, her safest place was at his house. He didn't want to make her feel like a prisoner but until more information was revealed, they agreed it was better to be safe than sorry.

Jacob told Bella to make herself at home and that she was welcome to anything she needed while she was there. He would introduce her as a friend to his kids later. She completely understood that he needed to explain to Danni as well and offered to watch the kids for him. Her offer was kind, but since the kids didn't know her, he declined. They would have more fun playing with their cousin Will.

"Jake, can you take me to get my Jeep at least? I hate being here without a way to get around. I promise I won't go anywhere without letting you know, but it's sitting there in my driveway like a beacon," she told him.

"Sure, sure," he said. "We can stop and go to the grocery store too. I'm sorry there's no food here," he chuckled.

When they got back to the Swan house, Charlie was there. Needless to say, he was surprised to see Jacob bringing his daughter home after she had been gone all night. Bella stuttered because she didn't really have a lie prepared to tell her father.

Jacob stepped in and said she'd been visiting with his friends the night before and his sister was running late and couldn't bring Bella home. It was a flimsy lie at best and the three were clearly uncomfortable in the room. Bella went upstairs to put some more things into a bag because it looked like she would be gone longer than she first anticipated.

She had left Jacob standing awkwardly downstairs. He didn't really have much to say to Charlie but asked him if he'd been fishing lately. Then he told the other man his dad was always looking for a partner to go with him. Charlie said he'd try to remember that, but finally excused himself to run upstairs.

He met Bella in her room. He saw her quickly stuff a piece of paper into her backpack before looking up at him, nervously. The cop in him knew something was up and the pieces he was putting together made him unhappy.

"Bells, what the hell are you doing out with a married man?" he hissed.

"Dad, please it's not what you think," she looked up at him, begging with her eyes that he believe her.

"What am I supposed to think? You leave last night after I went to work and you come home this morning with him," he said, pointing down the hallway in the direction of the stairs. "I thought he was a good guy, but maybe I misjudged him."

"You didn't misjudge him. He **is** a good guy. Dad, I'm begging you. Don't turn this into something it's not," she hugged him. "I'm going to stay on the reservation for a while. Maybe you could come out and go fishing with Jacob's dad like he offered. I can't be here. I don't want _them_ to know where I am," she said, implicating the Cullens were the reason for her departure. For all she knew, they were.

"The Cullens?" Charlie shouted. Then he lowered his voice, "Bella, I'm the Chief of Police. If there's something going on with them, then I should know. I can do something about it. You shouldn't have to leave your home."

"Some things I have to handle on my own, Dad. I'll have my cell phone. I'll call you every day," she assured him.

"What about Seattle?" he questioned her.

She sighed, yanking her backpack up her shoulder. "I cancelled the apartment and emailed my boss to tell her I wouldn't be moving after all." She looked down, feeling ashamed for disappointing her father.

"You promise that you aren't doing this for him?" he asked, as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"I promise it isn't what you're thinking," she dodged his question, leaning up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "I love you, Dad."

Charlie followed Bella down the stairs, and naturally, Bella stumbled at the second to last step. Jacob shot forward to grab her arm and help her back up. Charlie glared at Jacob, warning the man away from his daughter.

"Bye, Dad," she said, again, trying to get her father to break the staring contest with Jacob. She was pretty sure getting in a pissing contest with an alpha male wasn't a great plan.

She lightly smacked Jacob's chest as they left. She followed him to the grocery store and helped him stock up on the basic necessities to cook dinners. They split for a couple of aisles so that Bella could get some things she wanted for herself.

A young man stood beside Bella as she read through the variety of coffee packages trying to find a flavor pack she wanted. He asked her a couple of seemingly innocent questions. She had giggled at a joke about expensive coffee stores when Jacob turned down the aisle. It only took a second for the wolf to read the other man's intentions.

He walked up behind her, glaring at the other man's back. The guy was oblivious and didn't notice Jacob standing there.

"Find everything you need, Bells?" he asked, stealing her dad's nickname for the desired effect.

"Oh, I'm sorry, man" the flirt said, as he took off, not getting any coffee.

"What was that?" Bella asked, puzzled.

"Sorry. He was flirting with you. My other half didn't like it," he hung his head, embarrassed at letting the wolf get in the way of his brain.

"Oh," she responded quietly. Quickly, she grabbed a package and held it up silently asking for Jacob's opinion. He nodded and she put the items in her hands into the cart.

In the checkout, they ran into Emily Uley. She was extraordinarily friendly and offered Bella a respite away from Jacob's house any time. Jacob chuckled at her friendliness. She didn't have as many friends as she should. Many of the tribe were clueless about her and Sam's imprint, thinking Emily had intentionally stolen away her cousin's boyfriend. Before she left, Emily scribbled her name and number on a piece of paper giving it to a dumbstruck Bella before rushing out the door.

"Who was that?" Bella asked, still unsure what had just happened.

Jacob laughed, unloading their groceries on the conveyer belt. "That's Sam's wife, Emily. His imprint. Sam drove us home last night."

"Is she always like that?" she wondered aloud.

"Like what?"

"That forward. That nice?" she explained.

"Pretty much. You'd like her, I think. She can probably tell you a lot about imprinting if you wanted to know," he shrugged.

Jacob loaded the groceries into the back of his truck and then drove back to his house. She insisted on helping him carry them in the house, even though he told her he could handle the bags by himself.

Since she didn't know where any of the things went, she unpacked the items onto the counter and helped out with the cold groceries.

Afterward, Jacob called Embry and asked him to come hang out with Bella that night while he went home to talk to Danni. He agreed to come by and Bella offered to cook dinner for him.

Jacob took the kids straight to Rachel and Paul's house after school. But before he left, he pulled Ryker aside on the back porch to have a man to man talk. Ryker straightened up at this announcement. He wanted to be a man like his dad.

"Son, I wanted to talk to you about the lady you saw sleeping in the office this morning," he started. "Did Mommy tell you anything?"

"She said it was grown up stuff," he pouted.

"Well, kind of. That's true. Her name is Bella. She's a friend of mine. She needed a safe place to stay for a little while. We have the extra room, so I told her she could stay with us."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you first, but it was kind of an emergency. I'm going to explain it all to Mommy, but she knows about it," he told him honestly.

"All right, Dad. I understand," he said, sitting up straight.

"Love you, buddy," Jacob said, hugging his son tight.

"Daddy, your skin is hot. Are you sick?" Ryker asked, feeling his dad's forehead like adults usually do to their children.

"Nope. Daddy is in tip top shape," he promised, kissing his head.

They went back in the house and Jacob talked with Rachel for a little while before heading home to wait for Embry.

When Embry drove up, Jacob stepped outside to greet him. He reached out to shake his hand, discreetly checking the other man's temperature. Embry was warmer than usual for certain, but Jacob didn't think he was in danger of changing tonight. Embry held out his hand to show a handful of movies he brought to watch with Bella. There was a mix of action, horror or comedy.

"Hey, Bella!" Embry smiled as he walked in the house.

"Hi, Embry," she greeted him, feeling a little shy around a man she didn't know. But she fully trusted Jacob, so she felt a connection to Embry right away. Jacob left to go home, and Bella complimented him lightly when he left.

She had cooked a ham and cheesy potato casserole with the leftover breakfast ham. Embry hadn't had it before but really liked it, talking over with Bella how he could make it on his own. They continued chatting over the dishes and then headed to the living room to watch a movie.

Bella immediately dismissed the horror movie saying that was too close to real life right now and went for the comedy instead. Embry popped it in and they kicked their feet up on the coffee table at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed about it, just as Jacob opened the front door. He glared at their chumminess, then huffed and stormed into the kitchen without saying a word.

Bella looked at Embry with a confused face and he started to get up to go talk to Jacob.

"I'll talk to him," she whispered.

Embry nodded and then began tidying up the living room. With Jacob's temper, he felt he needed to stick around. Things mustn't have gone well if he was already back to the house. The previews hadn't even finished yet.

"Hey," Bella whispered as she walked into the kitchen.

"Getting all cozy with my best friend already, are you?" he snapped.

Bella looked at Jacob with shock and when he made eye contact with her, his eyes were dark and unlike any she had seen before. She stepped back in fear and turned to dart into the living room before slamming into another warm body. Embry grabbed her so she didn't fall. This caused Jacob to growl.

Carefully, Embry let go and whispered to Bella to get out of the room. She didn't look back as she dashed into the office closing the door. When she started crying, both men finally calmed down.

"Jake, come on. You know I'm not going to get all fresh with your girl," he apologized.

"She's not my girl, Embry!" he thundered. "I'm married-to someone else! Do I seem to be the only one around here that realizes that?"

"Of course, you are and I know you're married. Speaking of your wife, Jake, what happened? What got you so upset that you come back here acting like this?" Embry asked, his voice calm.

Jacob didn't answer at first, turning toward the kitchen sink and filling a glass with water to take a drink. He stared out the window over the sink and took a few slow sips. He was such an idiot, and was only fooling himself to think that Danni would stop being a stubborn ass. Looking around, Jacob tried to find something to eat quickly. He opened the fridge and found a covered plate of leftovers.

He placed the plate in the microwave and warmed it up a little before inhaling the food. Embry's eyes bugged out when he saw how fast Jacob was eating. He hadn't eaten like that in a long time.

Finally, Jacob was able to start speaking and told Embry about his meeting with his wife. Of course, she was all dramatic about it, saying that as soon as he got his own place he moved his imprint right in to replace her. That just emphasized her point that their divorce was priority number one. She would not feel like the other woman. Jacob begged and pleaded with her. He explained over and over what had actually happened and why it was imperative to keep Bella safe.

Danni ended up sitting and staring at Jacob, not saying a word. Jacob thought that he was getting through to her. When he'd reached out to touch her arm, trying to get a response from her, she snapped. She'd yelled she understood the legends, that there was a threat and she had already promised she would be careful. She reminded him school was almost out for the summer and then she would remain on the reservation every day to make him happy. Then she told him in no uncertain terms to get out.

He had no choice but to leave, and he was furious about it. The 45 second drive back to his house hadn't really given him time to pull himself together. When he opened the door and saw Embry and Bella looking at each other, getting along so well, the wolf roared.

It was an internal war because he was being pulled between two women.

Eventually, Jacob calmed down enough to dismiss Embry and go check on Bella. While he was talking, he could hear her soft crying slip into soft snoring. Bella had fallen asleep, but he didn't want to let her sleep for the night thinking he was mad at her.

He opened the office door and leaned against the door frame watching Bella sleep. He rubbed his hands over his face, feeling bad for being such a shit head when he came back. Leaving the door open, he went into the kitchen and cut two slices of a cake he bought that day at the grocery store. He put them on paper plates and carried them into the office.

"Bella?" he called.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"I came to say I was sorry, and I brought chocolate cake," he said, holding the plates up to show his offering.

She sat up and reached out for one of the plates. He apologized to her for yelling at her, then went on to explain the evening's events. She listened to him and took his outstretched hand when he was done.

"Come on, let's go watch that movie you and Embry were going to watch," he said.

"Do you think it would be okay if I spent some time with Emily tomorrow?" she asked.

"It's fine with me. Don't feel like you need my permission to go anywhere. I only want to know if you're leaving the res, and I'd hope you wouldn't go out at night," he told her.

"I think it would be helpful to understand everything I can about the imprint," she told him. "Anyhow, let's watch the movie. Do you want to make some popcorn?"

He smiled lightly. She was so good at turning things around and bringing him back down to earth. Nodding, he went to the kitchen and put a bag in the microwave. He poured it into a bowl to share and went back to the living room.

They shared the bowl and laughs over the movie. Every now and then, their fingers would accidentally brush in the bowl and both could feel the little zap of electricity. Neither chose to comment about it. While they didn't try to touch the other, neither of them stopped eating the popcorn.

When the movie was over, Bella yawned and stretched.

"I better get to sleep now," she said, yawning again. She stood and walked in her makeshift bedroom. When she unzipped her backpack, she found the letter she had quickly stuffed in there to hide from Charlie.

"Jake!" she yelled out, careful to not sound like it was an emergency.

Jacob came around the hallway dressed only in basketball shorts and his toothbrush in his mouth. He held up one finger to indicate he needed a minute, before heading to the guest bathroom to rinse his mouth and toothbrush.

"What's that?" he asked, as she held out the paper, looking as white as a ghost.


	14. Council Meeting

Chapter 14

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I didn't plan to get another chapter out, and I'd like to say the guest begging didn't help, but it did. Had some time today and maybe for the rest of my vacation. After the weekend though, I don't see this many updates. So begging won't help. Thanks to Plain Jane and Pastoneonta for the detailed reviews. They are helpful in the writing process. Anyhow, I'll shut up now. Thanks for reading!**

He took the letter from her hands and read it over. Once he was close enough he recognized the putrid smell. There wasn't much to read, but he looked up to Bella, wondering her reaction.

Her back was to him and she stood staring out the window. It was pitch black outside, so she wasn't looking at anything. She was lost in her thoughts.

_Why? Why now? What happened back when she was younger to bring something like this? Why can't they use a phone like normal people? Why can't they respect her privacy like she asked?_

Jacob stood in front of her and waved his hand in front of her glassy eyes. When that didn't snap her out of the trance, he reached over and touched her arm. That worked.

"What does this mean? 'Alice can't see you,'" he asked, pointing to one of the few sparse sentences.

Shakily, she sat on the air mattress and looked up at him.

"Alice can see the future, or parts of it at least, and mine is gone."

"Gone?" he asked. "What does that mean?"

She stared at him waiting for him to put the pieces together. Gone, meaning there wasn't a future for her.

With realization of the meaning, he sat in front of her. Unlike Bella, he didn't trust vampires. He needed to know more before blindly following such a statement.

"Has she ever been wrong?"

"I don't think she has ever been wrong. Her visions are open to interpretation. They're based on someone's decision, but that can change. When you wake up in the morning, you might be thinking pancakes for breakfast. But when you get in the kitchen, you see the dirty dishes piled in the sink and decide cereal would be easier," Bella shrugged. She had always believed faithfully in her friend's visions.

"So, what if you being 'gone' is a misinterpretation of the truth?"

"What if it means I die soon?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears. She dropped the note onto the ground. Damn, Alice and her interference.

Jacob didn't know what to say exactly. He'd been living in the supernatural realm for so long that things like this no longer surprised him. Of course, he knew that if she died, there was a possibility that he could as well.

He swallowed thickly. The implications were not happy ones. Twice in one night he sat by while she cried. Facing the possibility of one's death affects people differently. For Bella, it was exhaustion. She couldn't think about it anymore. She lay down and turned on her side. She closed her eyes and through the leftover snuffling was able to fall asleep.

Still not on board with the prediction, Jacob stood and left the room. He lay in his own bed drifting in and out of sleep. In the morning, he would be sure to do a thorough patrol of the area. It was frustrating to be on his own, but he didn't wish phasing again on his brothers.

A shrill screaming woke Jacob and he was on his feet and running. He flew into Bella's room and saw her sitting up in bed staring at the wall. Her heart was beating double time and her eyes were so wide, it was spooky. The screech continued like she was seeing something that wasn't there.

Jacob used his senses to determine there wasn't anything in the house and he leaned in front of Bella to see her eyes were open, but unseeing. The screaming was killing his ears and he called her name a couple of times to no avail. Finally he grabbed her and held her close to him.

"Jake?" she said, blinking, looking around the room to take in her surroundings. When she realized she was awake and that it had been a nightmare, she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.

"Oh my gosh. That was an awful nightmare," she finally let out.

He held her and rubbed his hand up her back. Her heart beat slowed and she laid her head on his shoulder, enjoying the comfort he brought her after a terrifying dream.

"What did you see?" he asked when he thought she was calm enough to talk about it.

"There were other vampires. Vampires that weren't the Cullens. They were chasing me. Edward killed one of them. They promised to be back, to find me." She shivered with the memory.

"Anything else you can remember?"

"The one that Edward killed was a woman. She had bright red hair, like a fire burning. The other two were men, and he promised that no one would get away with what had happened."

Once Bella had her wits about her, she realized where she was seated. She squirmed a little trying to get up. But when she looked up at Jacob, she realized he had that dark look in his eyes again. She wondered if that was the wolf part of him coming out.

She released her arms from his neck, and tried to get up. His arms squeezed her gently. Leaning back, she glanced at his face. Still that look.

"Can I get up now?" she requested quietly.

All she got in return was a soft growl. She was embarrassed to admit that she liked him holding her and in reality, she didn't want to get up. She just thought she should.

His fingers gently explored her face, brushing her hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ears. The touch gave her shivers. He noticed and rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

Again, he felt enchanted by her. Her smell was perfect, a light floral scent that he couldn't quite name, but he knew he could find her if he was blindfolded. She was so trusting and she calmed him without trying to. Slowly he leaned his face toward hers. He expected her to move away a little, but when she didn't, he placed a warm kiss on her cheek, and then another. Lightly he kissed her face, to her neck and stopped at her shoulder.

He held her body against his and let his head rest on her shoulder this time. He pulled from her strength and took that calming energy she seemed to exude. When he hadn't moved or said anything for a little while, Bella ran her hands over his back.

"You ok?" she asked him.

"No," he whispered. "Not a bit."

"Earlier I'm convincing Danni that everything is okay and nothing has changed, but here, with you in my arms, I know that it has." He couldn't look at her face. None of this was her fault and it was a difficult place for the 3 of them to be.

"Maybe I should leave, Jake," she offered again.

He grunted. "No, you can't."

He lifted his head up and started kissing her shoulder again. He'd breathe in deeply to pull in as much of her scent as possible.

"Is this okay?" he asked, seeking permission.

She nodded her head a little and he continued his light exploration of her neck. As he kissed around the front of her neck, she leaned her head back, sighing. He lingered at the front of her neck, rubbing his nose there and kissing alternately. His tongue slipped out and tasted her skin.

_Heaven_ the wolf thought. The man kind of agreed.

Bella squeezed her legs lightly onto Jacob's side. She was enjoying the attention he was giving her and the warmth. Two things she hadn't had, ever. Jacob's hands slipped down to her hips and gripped them tenderly. He pulled her closer to him and she found herself pushing against him, seeking something, though she wasn't sure what. She'd never done this with a man, nothing even this close. Her body was on fire and her brain had stopped thinking rationally the moment he asked if it was okay.

Just when she thought he would never kiss her on the mouth outside of her dreams, he did. It was tentative at first, testing, soft. He hadn't kissed another woman since he was in high school. His fingers slipped up under her tank top and the feeling of her soft skin on his fingers was amazing. He didn't push up, just moved them tenderly at the top of her shorts.

Finally he pulled away and looked at her with a mix of emotions. Adoration, confusion, lust for sure.

"I'm not ready for this," he admitted, almost too quietly to hear. He should have pulled away and left the room. But he didn't. Instead, he hugged her and laid her back on the air mattress. She pulled the blanket back up over her body to her nose. She inhaled deeply, recognizing Jacob's scent that was on the blanket. It was probably the best smell she'd ever breathed in her life.

He sat beside her with his feet crossed, legs folded, his arms wrapped around his knees. Neither spoke.

When Bella awoke in the morning, he was gone. Not just from the room, but from the house. She ventured into the kitchen and found a note on the refrigerator that he had gone to work for the day. He told her she should call Emily, but if she needed him not to hesitate to call.

After taking a shower and eating breakfast, Bella finally called Emily. Emily was thrilled and told her to come right over. She gave Bella careful directions and told her she would see her soon.

The two hit it off smashingly. Bella didn't have any human friends here, but to have a friend that knew all of the supernatural facts as well, she was super happy about that. They talked all day and Bella helped Emily with laundry. She insisted that she was so bored she would lose her mind soon if she didn't have something worthwhile to do.

Emily had been overwhelmed with housework, so she let the other woman help her out. All the while they talked about imprinting, the old pack, what Emily knew of the Cullens and the treaty. Overall, it was a productive day.

Nearing 4 o'clock, she told Emily she'd better head back to Jacob's house, so he wouldn't start worrying about her. Now that she knew a little more about imprinting, she understood her need to calm him and his need to know that she was safe.

She made a simple but hopefully kid-friendly dinner-chicken quesadillas. She hadn't talked to Jacob about dinner plans so she hoped this was okay.

Bella watched the clock and when 5:00, then 5:30 and then 6:00 rolled around, she figured Jacob had taken the kids out to eat. She wrapped up most of the ingredients, but left out enough to make her own dinner.

She was sitting at the table eating when she heard the garage door open and his truck pull in. She pretended to be doing something on her ipad in order to look casual when they walked in the door.

"Bella?" Jacob called.

"In the kitchen," she answered.

Jacob and the kids walked into the kitchen. They stood a little behind him, looking a little wary at the unknown woman in their house.

"Hi guys," she said. "Did you eat?"

"Yes, we stopped and got something. Sorry I didn't call but we needed to have some time together," he apologized, but avoided direct eye contact with her.

"This is Hope and this is Ryker. Guys, this is Bella, daddy's friend I told you about," he introduced her.

"You'll be really safe here," Ryker told her, confident in his dad's abilities to beat people up. Besides, he had beat Uncle Paul up a long time ago, there was no doubt he could do it again.

Her eyes flicked to Jacob asking a silent question. He shook his head subtlety indicating he hadn't given the kids the full version.

"Thanks, Ryker. I appreciate you guys letting me crash in the guest room. Nice to meet you too, Hope," she smiled at his kids.

"Nice to meet you too, Miss Bella," Hope finally said, peering out from her hiding spot behind Jacob's legs.

"All right you two, it's shower time and story time, like I said on the way home. Then you can play for a little bit before bed time," he told them. They both waved to Bella before heading to their rooms to do as their dad had asked.

"Daddy, can you wash my hair?" Hope called out from her doorway.

"Call me when you're ready, sweetie," he told her.

Jacob saw the pans sitting in the drainer and realized that Bella cooked dinner. He didn't say anything at first, but after he opened the fridge and saw the bowl of cooked chicken, assorted toppings and tortillas, he understood what had happened.

"Did you cook for us?" he questioned.

She shrugged. "It's okay. I didn't hear from you and after spending the day with Emily, I wanted to do something nice for everybody."

"I'm sorry that we weren't here and that I didn't let you know. I should've," he apologized, feeling like an ass after purposely blowing her off. After the previous night, he was unsure of how to act around her, so he decided to take the kids out to avoid coming back to the house with her there.

"Really, Jake. It's all right," she threw her paper plate away and drank the last of her water. Then she grabbed her ipad and walked out of the room.

She sat on the couch, searching different news outlets on her ipad, catching up on the world news. Unsurprisingly, she didn't find any stories about wolves or vampires. She was playing several different games and had settled on one when Hope sat down beside her, peering at her game.

"What are you playing? Is that Farm Frenzy?" she inquired.

"It is. Do you know how to play?" Bella asked her, happy to have something in common with the young girl.

"A little bit. My cousin Will plays it on his tablet. I usually kill the animals because I run out of water," she admitted.

"Oh well, there's a trick to that," Bella started, as she turned the tablet and explained a few tricks she had learned. She handed over the tablet and let Hope play for a little while, coaching her here and there on how to do it all.

"Okay, guys, it's time for stories and bedtime," Jacob announced.

"Will you be here tomorrow night too?" Hope asked, glancing at the ipad.

Bella nodded, chuckling. She wasn't sure if the young girl was more interested in her or the game.

Once Jacob got the kids to bed, he told Bella he was exhausted and heading to bed. He told her it was fine if she wanted to stay awake and watch TV. She thanked him and stayed on the couch, putting in another one of the comedies Embry had left there.

Sometime after 10, she decided she ought to head to bed herself and turned all of the lights off. She tiptoed to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of ice water. She stood staring out the kitchen window into the pitch black night wondering what had changed since the previous night. Clearly Jacob regretted what he did. She was ashamed that she didn't stop him.

Before he spoke, she knew he was there. In her chest, she could feel the slightest squeeze when he wasn't, and when he was close it was gone. Thankfully Emily talked about it, so now she recognized the previously unknown feeling.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey," she whispered back. "I thought you were asleep."

"I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "My mind is too loud right now. And the wolf is mad at me. Is it okay to leave you for a bit so I can go run a little? I won't go far."

"Of course. Go. We'll be fine."

He stepped closer to the back door, which also happened to be closer to Bella. He reached out like he was going to touch her, but let his hand drop. Pulling open the back door, he glanced back at her.

"Make sure you lock this, would you?"

She followed him out and watched him walk into the forest. She locked the door as he requested. She retreated to the living room, not sure if she needed to let him back in.

That was where she dozed off and he found her sleeping when he got back. He was sweaty from the run, but feeling better physically and emotionally. It was not doing him any favors to avoid phasing, so he'd have to start making it part of his daily routine again. Jacob took a quick shower to rinse his body off and went back to the living room. He debated whether or not to leave her on the couch or move her to her room.

In the end, he decided she would be more comfortable on the air mattress and lifted her carefully into his arms. She shifted at his nearness and snuggled into his neck. It was a feeling he enjoyed all too much, so he quickly put her to bed and went back to sleep.

Friday morning when Bella woke up, she found him sitting at the kitchen table alone. She glanced at the clock on the microwave and saw that it already 9:00. Wow, she couldn't believe she slept so late. On the table she noticed a box of store bought doughnuts and pastries. She slipped a premeasured cup of coffee into the machine and stood waiting for it to brew. Jacob still hadn't spoken to her, so she left him alone. He had his laptop open and appeared to be working.

She eased into a chair with her mug of coffee and grabbed a paper plate. She looked over the breakfast and chose an apple turnover.

"We have a meeting tonight that I need you to be at. It will be all of the guys that were in my pack and all of the elders, the Council," he told her.

"Okay," she agreed easily.

"It will also be all the wives and kids for dinner. The wives will keep the kids busy while we talk. They have heard the legends, but aren't ready to hear that it's all truths," he explained. "Including Danni."

She sucked in a breath, but nodded. In her head, she dubbed it the World's Most Uncomfortable Meeting.

After Jacob left for work, Bella called Charlie to check in with him and then called Emily to talk. Emily filled her in on everyone that Bella would be meeting. She assured her that she would be there and would talk to her so she wouldn't feel so awkward.

Jacob came home after lunch and discussed with Bella the plan for dinner. Since the meeting was at his house, he would be hosting dinner. She suggested a cook out and she could put together a few quick side dishes as well. He agreed and they went to the grocery store to pick up everything they would need.

Everyone began trickling in the door around 6:00 and Bella felt like a new toy that everyone was coming to see. Being the center of attention wasn't something she enjoyed, but she was doing her best not to be shy.

The pair worked seamlessly together preparing dinner. She put bowls of food on the picnic table and set up all of the paper goods, drinks and chips. She even got Hope and Ryker to help out.

"Bells, can you grab the big platter under the stove in the drawer?" Jacob requested of her. She froze at the nickname. He looked at her expectantly and finally she turned and went to get it.

"Mommy!" Hope and Ryker cheered as Bella bent to retrieve the dish Jacob needed. Slowly, she stood and made her way to the door attempting to be invisible. Of course, she didn't have any such luck and she tripped on the kitchen rug and dropped the platter, shattering it into a thousand pieces on the floor.

Jacob peered his head in and his eyes popped open at the sight.

"Honey, are you okay?" he asked, reaching down to help her up off the floor. The pieces of the dish symbolic of the way his life was at that moment.

"Oh my gosh, Jake. I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up. I'm such a klutz. It wasn't valuable was it? I'll get you a new one right away," she blabbered on, incredibly embarrassed as everyone stared into the kitchen.

He smiled. "It's okay. It was something somebody gave me when I moved. They were getting rid of it. I'll just get a plate."

She grabbed the broom and began sweeping the mess up. Emily stooped in front of her with the dust pan and they worked together to get it all cleaned up.

"You okay?" a sweet feminine voice asked.

Bella looked up to see that the woman the kids had been so excited to see was speaking to her.

"Yes," Bella stuttered, looking at Danni, not really sure how to act. "I'm sorry. I made such a mess of things." Her double meaning unintentional.

"Yes, you did," Danni whispered back, her double meaning intentional. "It's okay, though. It's not your fault. It was an accident. Fate, if you will." Danni lifted her shoulder and gave Bella a small smile.

She walked out of the room without another word and back into the living room with the rest of the elders and pack members. Bella stared, watching how well she fit in with the group and wondered why fate had brought her here.

Emily offered to help her finish getting things ready and she accepted the offer.

The large group ate in various places around the house and in the backyard. The kids devoured the macaroni and cheese and pudding, while the adults ate the potato salad and fruit salad, complimenting Bella on her cooking.

When everyone was done eating, the wives started cleaning up, while Jacob said they were going to start outside. Bella kept cleaning, not realizing she was supposed to step outside.

Jacob opened the door and looked at her. "I need you outside."

Bella glanced around to see the women and children looking at her, turning a bright shade of red. She would be the only woman at this meeting of men and it was not something she was looking forward to doing.

She dried her hands on the dish cloth and spread it out on the oven door handle, collecting herself before exiting the room. Billy smiled at her when she treaded out onto the deck and waved her in his direction. She sat next to him, glancing around to see the men she had already met smiling lightly at her. The elders looked at her with uncertainty and when Jacob came up beside her, he stood to address the group.

"If you look around at who is here, you've probably already guessed why I asked you to come," he began looking at each of the elders, who looked at him, with continued uncertainty.

"Jacob, we've guessed that you phased again. But what we aren't sure of is why she is here," Old Quil said, leaning his head in Bella's direction. "Why is she out here and your wife is not? Why is it that your wife remains inside a house that you are living in without her?"

Jacob remained patient. The old man always spoke first and refused to listen when he knew Jacob had something to say. It wasn't a surprise, this always happened when they met.

"I was getting to that, had you given me a chance," he chastised the older man gently. "I have phased again. Right now, I'm the only one. But I think that the others will again, possibly more. I've imprinted on Bella Swan," he gestured to her. "Danni decided on her own that we were going to separate. I was willing to try to work things out."

"But, Jacob, you know the legends. You can't refuse an imprint," interrupted Harry Clearwater.

"As I was saying, the reason Bella is here and Danni is not, is Danni's choice. Bella is here for her protection. She has had a vampire in her room and in the forest near her home."

The group of old men gasped in surprise. They all began talking at once. They were worried and didn't understand how she was still alive if a vampire was in her room.

Billy cleared his throat and the group quieted back down. "Jacob, do you know what's going on?"

"Not exactly. Bella got a letter from one of the Cullens. Alice. She seemed to be checking up on Bella. Bella had a dream about vampires being after her, but it was more like a memory than a dream."

Jacob continued on filling the group in on the details. Once they started discussing different ideas and theories, he finally sat down on the bench next to Bella. She was quiet and absorbing the reality of her life.

It was odd listening to people discuss your life decisions. _Why did she live with the Cullens? Can you believe she stayed with them knowing what they were? What makes them think it's okay to pretend they're human anyway? Do you believe if she died, Jacob would too?_

He noticed that her heart was beating double time again. Casually he reached over and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over the back as he continued the discussion with his pack and elders.

The pack would discreetly look at Jacob to see his contact with Bella, then they would glance into the kitchen window. Danni stood watching out the window.

Inside the wives talked about their day to day lives and the local gossip. Danni knew the other women well but remained quiet. She felt like she was being pushed out of her own life and replaced in every way.

She decided that instead of standing around gossiping, she would take advantage of the time with her children. So she went in their room and played with them, read stories to them, and helped them put away a few things.

The meeting outside dragged on so long that many of the children and wives went home, the others promising to give each other rides home after it was over.

Danni helped her kids get their showers and into pajamas. The 3 laid together in Ryker's bed, reading one of their favorite books. They each had a voice and had read it so many times that even Hope had her parts memorized.

Hope and Ryker told their mom how much they missed her. She asked them what they thought of their dad's friend and they told her honestly that she was nice.

Danni told them that she was glad they liked her because she was sure that daddy would be spending a lot more time with her. Ryker was surprised at his mom because his friends talked about how their parents fought about everything when they got divorced.

"Ry, Daddy and I will always love each other. We will always love you. I am your mom and he is your dad. The only difference now is we live in different houses. When daddy says no about something, mommy's answer is still no. We both believe you shouldn't watch too much TV and should have story time before bed," she talked openly with them.

Even she had to admit how natural Jacob and Bella seemed together, even though neither of them seemed to be aware. She knew that her choice was rough all around, but was the best decision for both of them. She decided from then on she would be supportive of them, and she would do what she could to make life easier on all of them. Danni tucked the kids in to bed, promising that she would see them Sunday for dinner, and tiptoed out of the room.

Before opening the back door, she sucked in a deep breath, gathering her courage.

"Jake?" she called out.

He jumped up and went in to the kitchen.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked her.

"Good. Real good," she smiled genuinely. "The kids are down, so I'm going to head home. Thanks for letting me do bedtime. It was a special treat."

"Thanks for coming, and staying. I'm sure they loved seeing you," he told her.

"I was thinking on Sunday, instead of meeting somewhere for dinner. You should just bring the kids to the house, and I'll make dinner for us," she suggested.

He smiled widely, "Sure. Sounds great."

"And bring Bella. I'd like to get to know her better," she told him.


	15. Is Seeing Believing?

Chapter 15

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Hope you like it. Thanks to the follows, favorites and reviews. It's exciting.**

At breakfast Saturday morning, Jacob told Bella about Danni's request. She was shocked that Danni had invited her over and told Jacob she would go. Overall she wasn't really thrilled about it, but she would do her best to make things easier on Jacob.

He told her he was going to meet Paul and Rachel at First Beach with the kids for a picnic lunch and she was welcome to go. She declined, telling him she had plans with Emily. At that moment in time, she didn't have plans with Emily, but she had every intention of talking privately with her friend.

She headed to her room after they cleaned up the kitchen and sent Emily a text asking if they could get together. Emily told her she could come over any time. So she got dressed and said her good-byes before driving over to Emily's and Sam's.

Emily was waiting for her on the porch when Bella drove up. She waved to her and hugged her lightly when she walked up the steps.

"How's it going, Bella?"

Bella smiled. "Good. Danni asked to have me over for dinner tomorrow when Jake drops the kids off."

"What? Are you serious?" Emily smiled and opened the front door.

They sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking about the "game plan" for Sunday night's dinner. Bella was very nervous about the whole situation and wasn't sure if she should even go.

Emily assured her that Danni was not a vindictive person and that she was sure it was meant genuinely. They all knew Danni for a long time and no one had ever seen or heard her do anything mean to anyone. In fact, they were all stunned when they'd heard she was planning on divorcing Jacob. The pack thought she would at least fight for their family.

"Where's Jake today?" Emily asked.

"He's meeting Rachel and Paul at the beach. They're going to have a picnic lunch," she told her friend.

"You should go," Emily encouraged her.

"No," Bella shook her head. "I don't want to intrude on their family time."

"Bella, sweetie, as much as neither of you want to admit it, you are part of the family now." She patted Bella's hand, trying to drive her point home.

"You think it's okay?" Bella asked.

"I think it would be great. Why don't we make some cookies for you to take over there? I can give you a ride back to Jacob's to drop off your Jeep and then I'll take you to the beach. That way you can all ride back together."

Bella thought it over and agreed. It was where she wanted to be.

Emily pulled out a cookie cookbook and the friends found something quick and easy to make for the beach. Bella packed the lemon cookies into a Rubbermaid container from Emily and they drove back to Jacob's house as planned.

On the way to the beach, the girls chatted about what it was like feeding the men when they were phasing. Bella laughed and told her about the morning she called Jacob a pig.

"Just wait until you see the group of them eating! You'll never believe it," she shook her head, reminiscing.

Bella hung her head. "I'm sorry that I brought this all on."

"Bella, do not be sorry. Obviously, you and Jacob were meant for each other. You didn't meet until later in life. There's a reason. I believe it."

"We're here!" she laughed.

Together they walked out to the beach and found everyone.

"Miss Bella!" Hope called out when she saw her. "Look at what we made!" Hope pointed to the ring of rocks and shells the kids had put together.

"Great job, guys!" Bella complimented them.

Emily was chatting animatedly with the others while Bella stood around feeling a little out of place.

"Miss Bella, come sit by me!" Hope grinned, patting the place on the blanket between her and Jacob. Jacob looked up at her and tilted his head a little, giving her the ok.

Bella noticed that Hope didn't leave much room for her and she was touching Jacob and Hope at the same time. She didn't think she would ever get used to that feeling of electricity whenever she touched him.

Hope chattered on to Bella about the things she had missed while at Emily's. Bella kept up her end of the conversation, completely enjoying the young lady's view of the world around her. It was obvious she adored her dad and Bella could see why. He was quite the doting father, a good balance of rules and freedom with both children.

Paul and Jacob decided they were going to test the water. Paul had mentioned to Jacob how hot he was feeling and Jacob laughed and reminded him that's how it was now.

They swam in the water and Bella admired Jacob's fit body from the shore. She knew she would be blue if she put one foot in the water, let alone got in dressed in only swim trunks. The men laughed and talked, splashing around in the waves. At last, they came back on the shore.

"Want a hug?" Paul said to Rachel, walking up to her with his arms held open.

"Paul, if you touch me, you'll be sorry," she warned. She stood up and started backing away from the picnic blanket.

Bella laughed watching the two run around on the beach. Paul kept acting like he was going to grab Rachel, and Rachel would run away squealing at him. Bella wasn't paying attention to Jacob, so she screamed when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Want to go for a swim?" he taunted her.

She beat on his back, screaming at him to put her down.

"Jake! No! No! I will be freezing. Don't get me wet!" she pleaded with him.

"Daddy, no! Don't get Miss Bella wet!" Hope called out, running to him. When she got to him, she wrapped her arms around his thigh.

He laughed and realized that he wasn't going to get away with this prank today.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" he laughed. He reached down with one hand and tickled Hope until she let go of him. Jacob set Bella on her feet and they walked back up the beach together.

The two groups enjoyed the rest of the afternoon playing and hanging out. Reluctantly, they packed it up and headed their separate ways.

Before Bella was ready Sunday evening arrived and they were taking the kids over to Danni's house. They debated driving, but decided since it could be raining on the way home, they shouldn't walk. Bella didn't have time to be too nervous since they pulled into the driveway less than a minute later.

The kids went running in the house as soon as they got unbuckled. Jacob went to the back of the truck to grab the kids' bags and Bella stood waiting at the front of the truck for him.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she looked at him, smiling.

"Jake, Bella. Thanks for coming," Danni greeted them at the door. "I sent the kids to get washed up for dinner. Come on in. I've got dinner set in the dining room."

Jacob was surprised at Danni's formality and when he reached to hug her, she spun and walked out of the room.

The adults sat in the dining room, while Hope and Ryker got to sit at the counter in the bar stools.

"So, Bella tell me about yourself," Danni prompted her.

Bella picked at her roll, deciding what she should tell her. She didn't know what she was asking. So she pretended she was meeting someone for the first time.

"Well, I grew up with my mom. We moved around a lot and when I was in high school, I kind of got tired of it. I wanted to stay in one place. So I moved in with my dad, Charlie, and went to school in Forks. After high school, I went to college in New York and got my degree. Then, I started working for a publishing firm, working my way up to editor. I had an accident at the end of last year and that brought me home to my dad."

"Ooh! New York! I've always wanted to go there. What was it like?" Danni asked, taking a bite of her steak, looking at Bella.

Bella chuckled, taking a nibble of the roll she had been playing with. "It's totally different than anywhere I'd been before. It's crazy busy 24 hours a day. People are so straight forward."

"Did you see the sights?"

"I did a few of the touristy things. But mostly, I just went to school and worked. I didn't have much of a social life," she admitted, realizing how embarrassing it sounded now.

"I've always wanted to go shopping there. The designers, the stores, everything is there," Danni stared off, dreamy-eyed.

"I'm not one for shopping myself. But my friend Alice would have loved to do that," Bella said.

Jacob growled.

It was the first time either woman acknowledged him. Bella looked at his plate and realized his food was gone. She had only eaten a couple of bites of food.

"Do not speak of _them_," he commanded.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think of it like that," Bella apologized.

"Jacob!" Danni chastised. "Don't talk to her like that, you aren't the boss of her just because you imprinted on her."

"It's okay. I shouldn't speak of the Cullens. He's right," Bella said, trying to diffuse an argument before it started.

"So, did you always know they were vamp…well, you know…" Danni asked, lifting her eyebrows. Even though she knew of the legends, it was still hard to take in the reality of it. The idea of someone being friends with a vampire coven, living with them, and going shopping with them on 5th Avenue, it simply boggled her mind.

Bella blushed, looking a bit ashamed.

"I didn't at first. I knew they were different somehow. But I grew up here near the Quileutes, so I knew of their legends. Eventually, I put the pieces together and Edward confirmed my suspicions."

"They told you what they were?" Jacob gasped.

Bella looked at him. He looked furious. She thought about the treaty Emily told her about. They weren't supposed to tell others about what they were.

"Not exactly. I figured some things out. Edward told me the parts I was right about. Kids from our high school had heard the stories at your bonfires, Jake. Those stories were shared all of the time. Nobody thought they were real."

"Well, they were. The Cullens know the treaty. It is completely understood that the existence of the supernatural is a sacred secret." He stood up and carried his dishes to the sink. Bella looked after him, then to Danni, wondering which of them would go talk to him.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine after he thinks it over," Danni told her, as she finished her last bite of steak and worked on cutting up a piece of watermelon.

Bella ate a couple of bites and couldn't take it anymore. She excused herself before stepping into the kitchen.

When she walked in, she stopped because the sight in front of her was too sweet to interrupt. Jacob was playing with his kids, turning an oven mitt into a puppet. She giggled and he looked to her and smiled.

As Bella turned to head back into the dining room, she realized Danni was right behind her watching the scene as well. Danni went back to her seat and Bella followed suit.

"He's a wonderful father. If you guys have kids one day, you will love him even more," Danni said casually.

Bella sat staring at her plate, unsure of what to say to Danni's comment. She and Jacob weren't even dating and the man's wife was planning their future children.

She decided to let it go and to eat the food on her plate. It was good, though she didn't really have much of an appetite with all of the butterflies in her stomach.

Danni cleared the table and promised Bella she didn't need to help clean up. Bella tried to insist, but Danni told her in no uncertain terms she was not going to clean, that she was a guest. Bella finally nodded and sat on the couch, unsure of what to do. She noticed a photo album on the table and pulled it into her lap. She flipped through the pages, starting when Danni and Jacob were younger, including her pregnancies and the kids being born. She enjoyed seeing Jacob when he was younger and so carefree. Danni had made him very happy, and the kids were adorable.

Danni came in and sat next to her, chatting about the various pictures and laughing about things that had happened in the past.

Jacob walked into the room after tucking the kids into their beds and reading them each their own story. He saw the two women looking at the story of his married life. He knew this would not be easy, but if the two could get along, it would make all 3 of their lives easier.

"Mommy, they're ready for you," he announced.

Danni smiled and stood up. "Thanks for coming over tonight, you guys. Bella, it was really nice getting to know you better. I hope we can do this again."

After saying goodbye, Jacob and Bella left. They sat quietly in the truck for the short drive. When they pulled into the garage, Bella opened her door and started to get out. She noticed Jacob hadn't moved. He was still buckled up.

"Are you okay if I take you for a ride?" he asked her.

"What'd you have in mind?"

"A surprise."

"Jake, I hate surprises." She started to get out of the truck.

"It's a place I like to go," he told her.

She stopped her advance into the house and turned to look at him. He leaned his head on the headrest and looked at her. He looked exhausted, but his eyes danced over her face. She got back in her seat and buckled back up.

He drove to her to the cliffs. As they hiked up the trail, Bella stumbled a couple of times before Jacob finally reached out and grabbed her hand to steady her. At first, she bristled at being led like a baby, but then she realized it was nice and he was doing it to be helpful.

When they reached the top, she could see the ocean far and wide. It was a magnificent sight to see. Jacob walked toward the edge, but Bella pulled his hand, stopping them.

"I don't want to get to close to the edge. I'm afraid," she told him, feeling utter panic at the height.

"I'll protect you," he said, looking at her. He started to walk forward and she went with him, squeezing his fingers out of fear.

Without getting too close to the edge, he sat down and Bella sat down as well, a scoot back from him.

He chuckled and scooched back to sit beside her.

"It's really beautiful up here, Jake. I can see why you like to come here. I never would though. I'd be afraid of tripping and rolling back down the path," she chuckled.

"I've always come here when I wanted to be alone or think since I was a teenager. When we were younger, we used to cliff dive from up here. Once we got married and started having kids, we decided to stop testing our invincibility."

They sat quietly, enjoying the fresh air, the brisk wind and each other's company.

"Thank you for going home for dinner with me tonight. I'm sure that was really awkward for you. I know it was for me," he turned to look at her.

Bella was staring out into the dark night, watching the waves roll in. It was fitting really because she felt like so many things were crashing in on her, leaving her out of control. She simply nodded her head to agree with Jacob.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she admitted a few minutes later. "Emily and I talked about it yesterday. She didn't think Danni would do anything to make me uncomfortable, and I was hoping that she was right. It was nice talking to her. But I still feel guilty because I feel like I've ruined everything for you guys."

"I don't know, Bella. What I do know is that it breaks my heart that she just gave up on me. She never gave me a chance to even try. I know that sounds awful to you, almost like I've done the same to you. But she and I were married with kids. I would've tried at least."

"You did. You are. Jake, you're doing the best you know how in a tough situation."

She looked at Jacob. He had his legs out straight and his arms behind him, leaning back looking up at the sky. Her eyes traveled over his body. When she reached his face, she saw that he was looking at her.

"You want to see him?" he asked.

"Your wolf?" she gasped. He nodded, and she smiled back.

"Let's go into the woods back here, so no one sees. I have to take my clothes off, so I'll go behind some bushes. Okay?" he asked, standing up and reaching his hand out to help Bella up.

Bella stood and brushed the dirt from her butt. They walked down the path and into the woods.

"Wait right here. Don't move."

She waited as he told her, her heart pounding in her chest. She was curious, but jumped back in surprise when the large russet wolf walked out to her. In her heart she knew it was him, but she wasn't prepared for his size. Slowly, the wolf padded toward her, keeping his head lowered. When he got close enough, he began inhaling her scent, which the wolf adored.

He snuffled her pants and her arms, up into her hair. She giggled when he sniffed her neck, telling him it tickled. The wolf paced a circle around her before settling down on the ground, giving her the chance to explore him.

Bella knelt down and brushed her hand on his side, feeling his soft fur. She wasn't sure there were words to describe the experience. It made her happy. She continued to rub the wolf down, momentarily forgetting that this animal transformed into a person. Her hands swished back and forth from his neck to his hindquarters. Finally she moved closer to his face and ran her finger up his muzzle. He leaned up and licked her face, and she jumped back, squealing with laughter, while simultaneously wiping her face.

"Jake! Yuck!"

He followed it with what could only be described as a wolfy chuckle. He was so happy in that moment, that he phased back without thinking about his. The wolf was so happy to be with her that the happiness bled through to the human heart.

"Sorry, Bells. Come here," he said, wiping his hand over her face.

The energy between them practically crackled in the night. He looked down into her smiling face and gently cupped her face. Hesitantly, he leaned down and got close to her face. His eyes glanced from hers to her mouth, wondering if she felt what he was feeling. Bella pushed up on her toes and closed the distance.

The kiss felt magical and both of them let go of everything that was holding them back. He dropped his hands from her face and put them in her hair, tilting her head back. She lifted her hands and gently explored his chest. It didn't take long for it to be evident that Jacob thoroughly enjoyed the kiss. Bella turned red when he brushed against her stomach. She had ignored his nudity until the point she no longer could.

"Jake, I've never…I've never," she stammered.

"Never?" he asked with surprise.

"No. He said it wasn't safe. That I could be hurt," she whispered.

He growled deeply. "Damn straight he could have. He shouldn't have even been around you all the time."

Bella ran her finger lightly across Jacob's cheek. The action instantly calming him.

"Sorry. I understand. The wolf doesn't so much because he doesn't understand human emotions. But this is all so new for both of us." He placed a warm firm kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned into his lips. It was a gesture that she enjoyed and wished he would do more often. So she told him. He kissed her again and smiled.

"Whenever you touch me, it makes me calm," he confessed to her.

"Good. I'm glad. You make me feel safe, so I'm glad I can do something for you."

"Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Bella buried her face in his shoulder, not wanting to look at him when she asked. She felt him nod against her.

"When was the last time you and Danni, you know," she cleared her throat, unable to say made love or had sex.

"It was before my accident. It's been a couple of months," he answered her.

"It doesn't really matter I guess. It would just be weird if last week you guys were doing that and this week we're here, like this," she said, leaning back to look at him.

"I love Danni. A part of me always will. It's like that part of me dwindled away. I'll admit, we tried. I just couldn't do it. My mind wouldn't go there anymore. She knew, even though I didn't tell her. I told her I was too worried, but she knew."

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she placed a soft kiss on his throat.

"Me too. I wish you didn't have to be brought into my crazy life," he whispered into her hair.

"Do you think Danni will be okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah. I think she will. I'll make sure of it," he promised.

Suddenly, a long piercing howl could be heard. Bella's heart raced and Jacob stood, alert.

"I think somebody just phased. Let me check. Stay right here." He turned and phased in front of Bella's eyes. She was amazed at the beauty of it and the magic of his ability. He paced around the area where they were, not going too far from her, but not close enough for her to touch.

After a few minutes, he went back behind the bushes where he initially phased and came back out dressed.

"That was Quil. Everything's fine. He's running through the forest on four legs, laughing his ass off." Jacob shook his head, chuckling at the youthful excitement of his friend. "Let's head back to the house, he's going to meet us there after he runs off some energy."

Later that night, Quil sat laughing with Jacob on the deck. He was thrilled to be phasing again and to have "his superpowers" back. Of course, the first thing he noticed was that he was starved. Bella went in to the kitchen and made a huge plate of nachos for them. She nibbled a couple of chips while Jacob and Quil inhaled the food.

"Mmm. That was awesome, Bella. Thanks. It really hit the spot," Quil said. "Anyhow, I'd better get back home to Claire. She's the one that kicked me out when I started shaking over the last ice cream bar getting eaten."

Quil dashed off through the forest to head home and Bella gathered the plates to carry inside. Jacob was waiting for her with the door open. She rinsed the plates and slipped them into the dishwasher.

"Want to watch a movie with me?" Jacob asked.

"Sure. What'd you have in mind?" She dried her hands and walked into the living room.

"How about Night of the Living Dead?" he held it up and wiggled his eyebrows. "It'll be like a home movie for you."

"Haha, Jake. That is hilarious. I don't think so. How about Serendipity?" she smiled, holding up the NYC rom-com.

"Ok, ok. I'll watch the news," he said as he flipped on the local news channel.

They sat watching the Doom and Gloom channel, but both sat riveted when they heard news of people going missing in Seattle. The anchorwoman talked about how a number of young adults had gone missing in the area and an even more staggering number of young adults had been found dead. Police believed to be the work of a bizarre gang.

"So, no TV then?" he said, flipping it off, thinking about this whole situation. He looked over at Bella and she was staring at the blank television, eyes looking horrified.

"You know what that means, don't you?" she said to him.

"What does it mean, Bella?" he said, scooting closer to her.

"There are vampires in Seattle, Jake. He said he's going to come for me and he's not far. He's out there killing innocent people. You saw that letter from Alice. My future disappeared," she shivered, scared.

"No, no, honey. I don't believe that. I think there's something we don't understand about her visions. Maybe…maybe you should call her," he suggested, hating the idea completely.

She looked at him with shock. "You want me to call her? Why?"

He shifted and told her, "I think we might be able to understand more. Maybe she can see you now and it was just a blip or something."

"Okay. I'll try to call her tomorrow."

"Honey, I think you should call her now," he insisted. He reached out and grabbed the phone and handed it to her.

Reluctantly she called her.

"Hello? Who is this?" Alice snapped when she answered the phone.

"It's me, Bella," she replied, shakily. Jacob sat closer to her, their bodies next to each other on the couch. She leaned into him, leaning the phone out to help him hear.

"Bella? What? How? I've been searching for you and I've lost your future. You haven't been home either, we've checked repeatedly. What the hell is going on?"

Jacob growled. He didn't like the way the bloodsucker was speaking to her.

"I'm fine, Alice, as always. How about _you_ telling me what the hell is going on? You leave a macabre note in my room telling me that my future is gone and I'm basically going to die," Bella snapped right back, no longer willing to be pushed around by the other woman.

"Your future is gone. I can't see you at all, even now. Who are you with that's blocking my visions? Are you safe? Did someone take you? Edward did mention a horrible odor in your room."

Bella turned to look at Jacob debating how much she should disclose to Alice. Jacob opened his phone and typed a quick note.

**Tell her you're staying in La Push. Nothing else for now.**

"Alice, no one took me. I'm staying with a friend in La Push."

"Bella! What! You are not safe. I am coming for you right now. Drive back to Charlie's and I will pick you up. Hurry, Bella!" Alice insisted.

Jacob couldn't take it anymore. He took the phone from Bella.

"She is perfectly safe with me, bloodsucker, so calm down. Tell Carlisle that we need to have a meeting since you are all back in town unannounced. He knows how to reach me." He ended the call without so much as a goodbye.

It started ringing again, and he declined the call and powered off her phone.

"Sorry, but she's not going to insist that you aren't safe here. That's bullshit," he fumed. "Do you think you'd be okay here alone for an hour or so, so I can go for a run?"

"Sure. Maybe I could use the big tub in your bathroom for a soak?" She had been wanting to check that thing out.

He laughed, it wasn't something he rented this house for, but it was a nice feature.

"Of course. Enjoy yourself. Here, keep my cell phone close by in case you need to call someone. If you need me to come home, you can call Quil. He can get in touch with me."

Jacob leaned over and lightly placed a calming kiss on her forehead. Knowing that she liked it, made him feel good to do it. He brushed her hair off her face and whispered "bye."

After he left, Bella sat momentarily frozen on the couch. It didn't go unnoticed that he called it "home" instead of back to the house, but she shook it off. She was reading too much into it. She went into her room and grabbed her clothes and toiletries.

In his bathroom, she admired the set up. After spending years with the Cullens, one thing she had become accustomed to was her own luxurious bathroom. In the hospital she didn't have privacy for anything, and at Charlie's house it was a small basic bathroom.

The jetted bathtub called her name and she turned the water on to fill the tub. A nice bubble bath and candles would have been the icing on the cake, but she wasn't going to complain.

Sinking down into the warm water, she felt her tense muscles relax. She leaned up to read the controls for the jets and turned them on, squealing when water shot everywhere. She grabbed her towel and dried the mirror and around the edges of the tub. She'd get the floor cleaned up after she got out.

After a little more water filled, the jets blasted the water around without shooting it all over the bathroom. She reminded herself that if she used it again to wait to turn the jets on until the water level was higher. She relaxed and contemplated the phone call with Alice.

Alice seemed really surprised that she was alive and almost expected someone else to be on her phone. That meant there was something blocking Alice's vision of her future. Jacob was right, though. It wasn't correct. Was it Jacob or something else? And why had Edward been in her room? That infuriated her. He knew no boundaries, and never followed through when she made him promise her something. She thought back to the time she lived with them. She had always taken Alice at her word about her visions. Maybe she should have questioned them.

The water started to cool, but Bella noticed there was a heater control, so she turned it on. It kept the water warm as she continued to relax. A long while later, she held her hand up and looked at her wrinkled fingers. She decided she should probably get out and get dressed before Jacob returned from his run.

Bella settled on watching that romantic movie now that she was alone. There was no way she was going to watch something that would scare her. She put the movie in and watched the old previews of movies that had since come and gone.

It wasn't until the credits started rolling that Bella realized it had been much longer than the hour Jacob promised to be gone. She took his phone and sent Quil a text.

**Jake's been gone a while. Said he'd be only an hour. Bella**

He quickly responded and told her he would find out. She sat around waiting for his response, beginning to worry about Jacob. A few minutes later, there was a loud knocking at the back door.

She panicked until she heard Quil yell out it was him and to let him in.

"Hey," he said, as he walked in and locked the door behind him. "Jake said to tell you he's sorry. Turns out a few more wolves phased tonight and they decided to run a thorough perimeter check. He asked me to stay here with you until he got back."

"Did they find something?" she asked, wary.

He fidgeted around and didn't answer her at first.

"Quil."

"Ugh, yes. He told me not to worry you."

"Don't worry, Quil. He worried me on his own," she assured him.

"I watched a chick flick. Want to watch something else?" she pointed to the stack of DVDs.

"Night of the Living Dead! Awesome! Can we?" he asked turning toward her.

"What is it with you guys? No! I don't want to watch that awful movie. I'll compromise. How about The Fast and the Furious?" she offered holding it up.

"Oh, okay, baby Bella," he taunted her.

"Quil. I lived with vampires for almost 10 years."

"All right, all right. You're freakishly good with weird," he scoffed as he put the DVD in the player.

An hour or so later, Jacob came in the back door.

"Thanks, Quil. You can take off. Embry and Paul are going to run patrol for the rest of tonight. You and Sam are going to relieve them at 7 in the morning."

"Cool. My life is scheduled for me all over again," Quil shot as he walked out.

"Ignore him. He's happy as a lark to be a wolf again. I'm going to go rinse off." Jacob went into his bathroom to shower off the sweat and dirt. He'd have to think about installing an exterior shower again for rinsing off. He wasn't paying attention to where he was walking when suddenly he hit a puddle and went sliding across the tile.

"Holy shit!" he yelled, regaining his balance. He looked down to see that it was wet at one end of the bathtub and wondered what had happened.

"Jake! Are you okay?" Bella came into his room, not expecting the bathroom door to be left open. He turned to look at her, but instead flashed her his body.

"Oh! Okay, I see you're fine," she turned and rushed out.

Quickly Jacob rinsed off and went out into the living room to check on Bella. She wasn't there, so he checked her room. He laughed when he saw her pretending to be sleeping on the air mattress, which had obviously deflated. She was laying on the floor. Her arms were across her chest. He thought she looked like Snow White.

He kneeled down and leaned over her face. He ran his nose down her cheek, across her ear and down her throat. She moaned the slightest bit giving herself away.

"Honey, I think you popped it," he told her quietly.

"I'll buy you a new one," she promised, giggling at being caught.

"Don't worry about it," he said, hopping up and lifting her with him. "You can sleep with me."

She gasped.

"Just sleep, Bells. Just sleep." He carried her into his room and set her on her feet. He ran back to her room to get her pillows and her blanket. He spread her blanket on one side of the bed.

"See you can have your half. Even have your own blanket," he gestured to it.

"Jake, I'm not sure about this. You aren't even divorced. This doesn't feel right," she wavered.

"It doesn't feel right?" he questioned, knowing that despite everything, to him it did. "I promise. I won't touch your side of the bed at all."

Finally, she yielded and climbed in. She laid on top of his blanket, but under her own. They both slept more peacefully than they had in years with the sounds of the other a peaceful lullaby.

**I tried not to rush them, but I feel like if things don't progress the story won't either. Thanks for reading. TJ**

**P.S. Thanks guests, but I can't respond to you without an account.**


	16. Riding a Wolf is like Riding a Horse?

Chapter 16

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I worked and worked on this to get you one last chapter. I'm so tired I've been forcing my eyelids open. So enjoy it! Let's get that favorite and followers count higher, huh? I'm shamelessly asking now. LOL. Thanks for reading.**

The week passed by in a new routine. Jacob would patrol, go to work, talk with any of the wolves that came by to report to him at the house, and stop by Danni's a few minutes each night to see the kids.

Bella would look for work she could do online, go to Emily's and help her with her household chores, cook food for any wolves that stopped by to see Jacob, and call Charlie while Jacob was gone to assure him that she was still fine. The town rumor mill had leaked into Forks and it was now known that Jacob had moved out and Bella was living with him. Bella promised her dad it wasn't like that.

Though, in a way she began to realize it was kind of like that. While they still slept in the same bed, Jacob had taken to rolling over in the middle of the night and pulling her body against his. All he did was hold her. The first time she tried to pull away, he woke up confused about what was going on. He'd called her Danni in the confusion and this caused Bella to run from the room claiming she was going to sleep on the couch.

Jacob told her she could if she really wanted to, but he was going to sleep on the couch with her. His wolf would not let her sleep anywhere else now that they had started this. Bella relented after 30 minutes of back and forth bickering.

When they laid down, Jacob tugged her body back against his. She settled in to his warmth and went back to sleep.

That weekend, they agreed to have the pack over again for a pack dinner. Bella was getting to know the other imprints through Emily and learned that after he phased again Paul had imprinted on Rachel. Bella was relieved there wasn't another disastrous imprinting situation. Embry was the only wolf that hadn't imprinted and he was still a serial bachelor.

Jacob talked to Bella about including Danni and his kids. She told him that she didn't ever want them left out of anything. They should always be invited to pack functions.

Each of the pack members chipped in money for the food, but Bella and Jacob did all of the shopping together on Friday morning. Bella decided to make shredded meat sandwiches so she got several huge chunks of beef and pork. Jacob assured her anything she put out would be eaten, within reason they weren't into chocolate covered bugs or anything.

Saturday night found the pack and their families on Jacob's deck. They brought lawn chairs and tables to make everything more comfortable. Everybody was clearly having a great time, reminiscing on the old days.

Bella stood at the kitchen sink, filling several pitchers to make more lemonade. All of the kids had enjoyed the homemade drink and it was gone. Danni walked inside and offered to help her out.

"I wanted to let you know that our divorce will be finalized this week. I'm sure it's been on your mind. But since it's uncontested, it just has to be approved by the judge. My attorney assures me it will be," Danni told her, as she stirred the pitcher in front of her.

"I appreciate that. I still don't feel right about all this. I don't know how you're okay with talking about it with me at all," Bella admitted.

"I know what everyone around here thinks of me. They think I don't love Jake enough to fight for him. It's not that at all. I don't want to hurt any of us. If I fought, I'd still lose and I'd come out the other side bitter and unhappy. I don't want to do that. I like you a lot, Bella. I can see how great you and Jake are together. You don't even realize it. In the beginning, we had to work really hard at it. For you two, it's seamless."

"Bella, I mean it, though. I want you to do what you can to make Jake happy. I really do. Whatever it is that he needs-be that for him. Can you promise me that?"

Bella looked at the other woman and she could see the sincerity in her eyes. She nodded, and told her confidently, "I promise. Thank you."

Danni opened her arms and Bella stepped into them and hugged the other woman.

"And…the kids really like you. Hope has talked about how you taught her to play a game and read to her. Ryker isn't so sure about everything because he knows of kids in town whose parents are divorced. He'll come around. Don't worry," Danni finished, stepping back when she heard the back door open.

Jacob looked skeptically at the pair, and asked them if everything was okay. He looked between them, as Danni smiled widely and Bella confirmed it was.

"The kids are ready for more lemonade. Can I help bring it out?" he offered.

Danni handed him two pitchers and grabbed the third herself. "Let's go, Bella."

Bella followed them out, feeling better about things with both Danni and Jacob. She swore she would make a greater effort to build the relationship with Jacob's soon to be ex-wife.

She stood over the food table surveying the damage, and stirring bowls and making mental notes of what was devoured and leftover. She felt a warm hand rub her lower back, when Jacob told her to come sit.

"Leave it for now. Come visit with our friends," he told her. He wrapped his warm arm around her shoulder and turned her to the group.

Danni looked at them and grinned, trying her best to be happy for the pair. She had noticed the guest room was picked up and that Bella's things were no longer on the floor. She silently affirmed that she couldn't have gotten between the couple. By taking the high road, she got to stay in her friends' and children's lives. It wasn't going to be easy, but she thought in the end it would be better for everyone.

"What the fuck is that smell?" Quil yelled out.

All of the adults screamed at him to watch his mouth, but once the wolves inhaled, the shaking and growling started.

"Everybody get in the house!" Jacob bellowed. The women grabbed the kids and ran without questioning his command. They raced into the living room and looked around.

The only man remaining was Embry. He was trembling and it was Emily who yelled at him to get in the kitchen. Bella started to walk that way, when she told her absolutely not.

"He needs to calm himself. Don't go in there. Trust me, he'll be fine. But if he were to hurt you, Jacob would not hesitate to hurt him."

She ambled back into the living room, hating the helpless feeling. Glancing around she saw the kids looking scared and decided that she could help them settle down. She grabbed her ipad and paired it to the TV. The moment she opened the Farm Frenzy app, Hope cheered and the other kids sat in front of the TV.

Together they coached Bella on what to do for each level. They'd built up machines and made record time. Some of the times Bella had gotten mixed up with all of the directions being yelled out at her. Finally, Will had spoken up over them and told them not so loud.

After a while the kids tired of the game and she downloaded a multiplayer trivia game so they could all take turns playing. It kept everyone's mind off what was going on outside, except for the adults who took turns looking out windows and checking cell phones. Embry stayed in the kitchen, but had stopped shaking.

One by one, the wolves returned to the house taking their wives and children with them. Only Embry, Bella, Danni and the kids remained.

When Jacob walked in the back door, Embry was startled at his appearance. The only word that came to his mind was feral. Danni noticed the look as well and herded the kids to their room telling them it was time to get ready for bed. She shut the bedroom door so that whatever happened next they didn't see.

"Embry, go run the border. If they come back, kill them. Quil will meet up with you after he gets Claire back home," Jacob stated, not leaving room for argument.

Bella stood leaning against the kitchen counter. She wasn't sure what she should say, but she was glad everyone appeared to be okay.

After Embry closed the door, Jacob locked it and walked straight to Bella. He scooped her up and headed straight to his bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

"Jake, please, Danni and the kids are here," she pleaded quietly.

"Bells, I'm fighting the wolf back right now. Please, just, don't," he said, sounding desperate. He put her down and began rubbing his hands all over her, assessing her, making sure she was okay. She stood still and let him. He knelt down in front of her and placed his face on her chest, inhaling her scent. His arms wrapped around her waist and he clung to her, relieved she was safe.

"What happened?" she asked, rubbing her hands up his arms, to his shoulders where she lightly rubbed back and forth.

He let out a gust of hot air onto her chest. She hugged him to her and he leaned his face back to look at her.

"One of the Cullens was on our lands. It's a violation of the treaty, but the fucker to the trees and I couldn't catch him," he ranted.

"Him? Was it Edward? Do you want me to talk to them? Explain what's been going on…" she said.

"Absolutely not! He's not allowed here. Ever. That's part of the treaty. I have to schedule a meeting with Carlisle. If they come back, we will not hesitate to kill them," he finished. Then he sighed and told her the part he didn't want to yet, "he knows about the imprint. He's furious."

"Did you tell him? Why would you do that?" she asked.

"I didn't _tell_ him anything, little mind rapist that he is. He knew some of the rumors in town about us living together. I think he's been at your house listening to your dad's thoughts. When he started yelling about making you an adulteress, the wolf responded with 'mine.' It was out then, I'm sorry," Jacob apologized.

"You don't need to be sorry. He would have found out eventually, but I already told him it was over after my accident. I hoped he wouldn't come back, but it doesn't surprise me. It wouldn't be the first promise he broke," she said, frustrated with Edward. She stepped back and grabbed her cell phone.

She sent a text to Alice. **Tell Edward I'm fine. Don't come here again.**

A text came back immediately. **He's furious about the imprint, Bella.**

Bella sent one last text. **Not his business anymore. Again, I AM FINE.**

She turned the phone off, not willing to continue to conversation. Jacob came back into the bedroom.

"Danni is sleeping with Hope. When I went in to check on her she was asleep. I woke her up and told her to stay," he told Bella. He closed the bedroom door all but a few inches and walked into the bathroom to rinse off.

Bella got changed into her sleep clothes-a tank top and shorts and climbed in under the light blanket. She'd given up on her blanket, getting too hot with her space heater under the covers with her. However, with other people sleeping in the house, she didn't feel comfortable laying out completely exposed. This wasn't exactly the way she wanted Danni to find out she was sleeping in Jacob's room.

Jacob stepped into the room and took one look at her before saying, "stop thinking so loud. I can hear you in the bathroom."

She blew out a loud breath and looked at him. "How'd you know?"

"I know you're wondering whether or not you should sleep on the couch or go back in the guest room. Don't worry, Danni already knows your stuff is in here. She used this bathroom earlier. We aren't going to do anything other than sleep."

He lifted the blanket and crawled under the blanket with her.

"Come here," he said, pulling her in. She fit perfectly against him. He kissed her shoulder and she pulled his hand up and kissed the back of his hand.

"See you in the morning," she whispered.

The sound of kids laughing and pans banging in the kitchen woke Jacob and Bella in the morning. They looked at each other and Jacob got up to see what was going on. He was stunned to see Danni and the kids at the counter making breakfast.

"Daddy!" Hope said as soon as she saw him. "We're making breakfast. Where's Miss Bella?"

"She's getting dressed, she'll be out in a minute. What did you guys make?" he asked, sneaking a piece of bacon.

"Jacob! Don't eat it all before everybody else," Danni scolded him, holding up the tongs like she might crack his knuckles.

Bella walked out of Jacob's room to a very domestic scene in the kitchen. She remembered Danni's words from the night before. She wanted Bella to be what Jacob needed, she loved him enough to make sure he was happy, even if that meant with someone else. So Bella swallowed down her guilt and went into the kitchen.

"Good morning, everyone," she said, going to the coffee maker to make her coffee. Danni handed her a mug from the cabinet when she saw where the other woman was headed.

"Thanks," she told her.

"Miss Bella, do you like bacon and eggs with toast?" Hope asked in her singsong voice.

"I sure do. Did you help cook?" Bella inquired.

"I made the toast all by myself!" she proclaimed proudly. Bella looked at the blackened toast and chuckled.

"You did a great job!" Bella complimented her.

"Hope, Miss Bella's just being nice. You burned the toast black," Ryker announced.

"Ry, be nice to your sister," Jacob warned.

"What, Dad? It's true. We all know it," he shrugged stirring the eggs in the pan.

"Yeah, well, you got eggshell in the eggs!" Hope returned, sticking out her tongue.

Danni smiled at the other adults. "Don't worry, I got them out. The eggs are shell-free. Unfortunately, the toast couldn't be saved."

They laughed and grabbed plates to serve everyone their breakfast. Everyone smothered their toast with jelly to cover up the burnt taste. Jacob complimented the kids on the breakfast and thanked them for cooking.

Bella insisted on cleaning up since everyone else did the cooking. When Hope and Ryker went to clean up and get dressed, Jacob asked Danni if he could talk to her outside. She nodded and followed him onto the back deck.

"So what happened last night, Jake?" she asked him.

He told the story over to Danni that he had already shared with Bella. He didn't leave any information out and he even told her how the wolf felt frantic when he got back. She listened carefully.

"That's really scary, Jake. What are you going to say to Carlisle?"

"I'm going to tell him that if I catch that son of a bitch here again he is ash. But I need to keep things square with Carlisle. Something is going on in Seattle and Bella thinks another vampire is coming for her as revenge."

"Danni, I've got so much on my plate right now. Do you think I could convince you to stay here with us or with Rachel and Paul maybe? I would feel a lot better knowing you aren't home alone on nights the kids are here with us."

"Oh, Jake. I can't stay here. I would completely intrude on you and Bella. I'll talk to Rachel. I might be able to swing that. Hopefully this all settles down soon." She looked at him and was amazed at the man before her. He had the biggest heart of anyone she knew. He would do anything for her and she knew it, even though he imprinted. She was lucky to have spent the years with him that she did.

"Jake, I want you to know that I will always love you and care about you. I think you and Bella are going to be a great Alpha pair." She stood up and hugged him. He hugged her back, grateful for her support and friendship. A few minutes later, she released him. "I'm going to head home and call Rachel. I'll let you know where I'll be. Okay?"

He shook his head. She ran her hand down his arm to his hand, giving it a firm squeeze before heading back in the house to say goodbye to the kids.

Before he could get back in the house, Embry and Quil came traipsing up the yard. They reported the evening patrol to Jacob before going in the house to say hello to Bella and the kids. They finished off the burnt toast and bacon before going back to their own homes.

Jacob leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Hope and Ryker read together at the kitchen table on Bella's ipad.

"What are they reading?" he asked.

"They're reading hints on how to beat a game," she chortled.

A trilling sound came from Jacob's pocket and he pulled out his phone. It was a number he didn't recognize, but he answered it anyhow.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi, is this Jacob Black?" the voice requested.

"Who's this?" Jacob asked.

"Jacob, this is Carlisle Cullen. I got your number from your father. I heard that you wanted to set a meeting with me. How about we meet tonight at the border? Say 10 pm? If we can request, we would like Bella to attend."

Jacob growled, which made the kids look up from the table. He lowered his voice when he responded.

"We will be there at 10 o'clock. But if you're _son_ so much as lays one finger on Bella, I will remove it for him. Is that clear?" he sneered.

"Very," Carlisle said calmly, as always. "See you then."

"Mother -!" Jacob started, before he caught himself. Damn vampires. Before he could settle down his phone rang again.

"What?" he yelled without looking at the caller ID.

"Jake?" Danni said timidly.

"Oh shit. Sorry. I had a terrible phone call a second ago. I'm sorry, Dan, what's up?" he changed his attitude.

"I'm going to head over to Rachel and Paul's. I'm planning on staying until at least Friday. But, can I come see the kids each night for a few minutes? Maybe stay when I drop Ryker off from school?" she asked.

"Sure, sure," he said. "You can stay for dinner if you want?" Then he quickly looked to Bella, mouthing sorry for not asking her first.

She waved her hand. "It's fine," she whispered.

"Oh, thanks for the invite, but Rachel said she'd cook for me. Don't worry about it. I'll stay with the kids for a little while and then leave. Talk to you guys later," she said before hanging up.

The phone rang again. Jacob shook his head. What the hell?

"Hey, Sam. What's up?" he greeted his friend.

"Jake, I think we're going to need you at the Clearwater's. We came to visit because Leah came home to see her family. She and Seth are both burning up, Jake! Lee, man! What is she doing with the fever? This is unheard of," he whispered urgently.

"Sam, get them outside away from everybody. I'll come right over."

He looked at Bella and the kids. "I've gotta go do some work. I'll be back soon."

Hope jumped up and held her arms up for a hug. "See you soon, Daddy!"

Ryker just waved from the table, not moving an inch.

Jacob jerked his head toward the living room, silently signaling Bella. She followed him out of the kitchen toward the front door.

"Sam thinks we're about to get some new wolves. I've got to go check it out. If they phase, I might be gone a few hours. I'll send somebody over to stay with you guys." He pulled her in for a hug, a deep inhale of her calming scent and kissed her forehead and then each cheek.

"Okay. Be careful," she said to him as she closed the front door and locked it.

It wasn't long before she got a text from Kim telling her that she and Jared were headed over with their kids. She promised to bring a kiddie pool for the kids to splash around and play in the backyard. Ryker and Hope cheered as they ran into their rooms to put on their bathing suits.

Bella shook her head thinking it was pretty cold still to be playing in the water, but for once it was a sunny afternoon and the kids were all sure to enjoy it while it lasted.

It wasn't until well after lunchtime that she got a text from Jacob telling her that he was on his way back. When he came in the front door, he was filthy and looked exhausted.

"Well?" she asked.

"Two. Seth and Leah Clearwater."

"Leah? What? How did that happen?" she wondered, as did everyone else.

Billy hadn't any idea when Jacob stopped by to talk to him. He promised to pull up the old journals and archives to see if they could find anything about a female shifter in the past.

"We don't know. They're both running off some energy right now with Embry and Quil. I couldn't leave Sam with Leah. They have a history and Leah isn't taking all of this news well. It's a long story, I'll tell you later about it."

Jared and Jacob talked outside for a bit while the two cleaned up the mess in the backyard. They didn't have any problem hefting the pool around and dumping the water out.

Kim and Bella wrangled the kids into dry clothes and set them up to watch 101 Dalmatians in front of the TV. They snickered at the irony.

They went in to the kitchen and as soon as they were alone, Kim whispered, "Spill!"

Bella told Kim about the new wolves. Kim filled Bella in on the whole Sam/Leah/Emily imprint triangle and how afterward Leah left town and rarely came back. Apparently Leah was now in on all of the secrets. Kim hoped it helped her to feel better about the whole thing.

"Kim, we're taking off now," Jared announced as they walked back in.

"Aw, Dad! We're watching a movie," his kids complained.

"We own this movie you know. I've put it in for you before and no one wanted to watch it," he snorted.

"We like watching it with Hope and Ryker," Lanie grumbled as she grabbed her favorite stuffed bunny and ambled to the door. Her brother, Dylan, followed her as usual.

"Another time we can finish it," Bella promised as they packed up their car. She waved from the porch as they backed out of the driveway.

She turned around and bumped into Jacob who was standing in the doorway. He braced her to keep her from falling back from the unexpected bounce.

"Thanks," she breathed out a laugh.

"No problem," he said, but didn't let go. His hands slid down her arms and his fingers looped around her wrists.

"Have I told you how beautiful your eyes are?" he asked. "They are this really pretty brown and you have this little gold fleck in both of them."

Bella blushed before looking down at her feet. She was embarrassed at his unexpected attention.

"I know this is hard on you and was thrust into your lap," he told her in hushed tones. "I am so thankful for how you've handled everything. The pack is so supportive, and it makes everything a lot easier. Danni has been supportive as well."

He leaned in and a heated breath escaped over her face. She breathed his unique scent in deeply. It was wonderful, there weren't words for it. Bella leaned back and looked at his face. She couldn't reach him to kiss, so she leaned up on tiptoes and he took the hint and leaned down. She kissed him, lightly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He held his arms around her waist and lifted her up, carrying her into the house, laughing.

"Kids, I drug something in from the porch. What do you think it is?" he laughed. They giggled and ran to tickle her and Jacob. Carefully, he "fell" to the ground, all the while holding on to Bella, helping the kids tickle her.

Out of breath, she declared war on Jacob. "Time to get Daddy!" The kids turned their focus onto him and she got up and away. He wrapped his long arms around each kid and began tickling them. They squealed with delight and tried to wriggle out of his strong hold. Ryker began kicking in earnest, when he accidentally kicked Jacob square between the legs.

"Oh, god. I'm dead," he mumbled before letting his arms go limp and the kids rolled onto the floor.

"I killed the monster, Bella!" Ryker said, standing proudly on his father's chest.

With only the grace of a shape shifting wolf, Jacob sat up and caught his son in one swift move.

"I will never die!" he roared, tickling Ryker again.

They enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and dinner together. Bella made a simple grilled chicken salad for dinner, both Ryker and Hope volunteering to shred up lettuce.

Jacob debated about what to do with the kids when they went to meet the Cullens that night. He didn't want them to keep getting bounced from bed to bed, but he also didn't want to leave them unprotected. In the end, he asked Quil and Claire to babysit at his house. He wanted a wolf there just in case, and they didn't have kids so it seemed a good choice.

Leah and Seth were still unable to phase back to their human forms, so they were running the south border together, while everyone else was going with Jacob to the border near the Cullens.

When they met up in Jacob's backyard, Bella asked how they would be getting there.

"Wolf!" Jared cheered, raising a fist in the air.

"What about me?" she asked, hesitantly.

Jacob looked at her and smiled grandly. "Ever ridden a horse bareback?"

The group sniggered, but Jacob silenced them with a glare. "You assholes."

He phased in front of her and got down on his belly for her. Embry told her to hold onto his fur and she shouldn't be afraid of hurting him.

"Don't worry about pulling his hair a little. Jake's freaky like that," Embry joked with her as Jacob stood up. He growled a warning at his friend. The other men went into the woods to change into their other forms. Once they were all phased in, Jacob went into the woods.

Bella buried her face in his fur and held on for dear life. He took off into the woods and she squeezed his body with all of her might. The last thing she needed was to fall off in front of everyone; she'd look like a complete fool.

When they arrived at the meeting spot, she slid off with a huge smile on her face. "That was awesome!" she said, as she stretched her aching body. She looked around to see the group of vampires she had adored for so long staring at her with befuddled looks.

The wolves were still on four feet, in a V formation with Jacob at the point. The all black wolf she knew to be Sam came up close beside her as Jacob turned and dashed behind some bushes. She looked after him.

Edward called out to her, "He's going to change."

The wolves lightly growled at him speaking to her. They all felt protective of their alpha's imprint. She reached out and put one hand in Sam's fur, silently telling him she was fine.

Jacob came tromping back to the front of the group and spoke directly to Carlisle.

"Edward is in direct violation of the treaty. We would like immediate recourse for his actions," Jacob boomed to the group.

Gasps sounded behind Carlisle, coming from Esme and Alice.

"We can discuss his error in judgement in a few minutes. But first, we think we have something you need to know, regarding Bella's safety," he countered.

"You have 60 seconds and it better be something real, not an imaginary vision," he bit out.

"Of course, well, Alice can see the future as you obviously know. Tonight she had a vision of the vampire that promised revenge on Bella's life. He is in Seattle and he plans to come here to kill Bella," Carlisle stated matter-of-factly.

The wolves began shuffling and snorting, stunned with the news the vampire leader shared. Jacob had already discussed the disconcerting news in Seattle.

However, Jacob was the ever patient and thoughtful leader. He still didn't trust the vampires. He thought they used the visions to manipulate others-a little self-fulfilling prophecy if you will.

"Why should I let Edward live because of this news?" he asked.

"Well, Edward's gift would be helpful in this situation," Carlisle stated.

"When is this hypothetical attack supposed to occur?" Jacob wanted to know, letting his speculation be known to the other group.

"We're not exactly sure. We know it's raining, but how many days in the year is that in Washington? We'll let you know as we know more information. I also give you my word that Edward will not come near the border again."

"Just so we're clear, if he does, my pack will end his life."

"Bella, are you going to let him talk to me this way?" Edward interjected.

Bella looked at Edward. What had she seen in him before? She wasn't sure anymore. Now that she knew what laid inside that stone heart of his, she couldn't see him the same way she used to.

"I don't control him, Edward. That's how relationships are supposed to work, you know," she hissed at him.

Bella walked to Jacob's side and clasped her fingers in his. Edward snorted loudly.

"Come on! Really? He's married, Bella! You know that you're living with a married man! He's still wearing his wedding ring for crying out loud!" He ridiculed them.

"What I do, or do not do, Edward is no longer your concern," she returned.

"But, Bella, you are pure, innocent. Would you give that innocence to him? Has he earned it?" he asked her.

She turned toward him, burning with embarrassment. "Edward, how fucking dare you say that in front of these people! My _purity_ as you so delicately put it, is no one's business. Oh my god! Let's go, please." She looked at Jacob, pleading with her eyes.

Jacob gave Edward a mental "fuck you, asshole," as they all turned as a group and left.

Only the wolves could hear Carlisle sneer at Edward that it was time to go. Reluctantly the vampire left wondering what his love was doing with a savage beast like that.

In the cover of the trees, Jacob phased back and quickly lay down for Bella to climb on. As soon as she grabbed hold, he was off. The pack followed him through the forest, dodging and jumping as a unit. Bella sat up a bit, but held on tightly. It was so dark, she couldn't see a lot other than the wolves closest to them. Seeing them run with such order was amazing.

Once they were in the backyard, he lowered his body. She wasn't quite ready to let go of him. Her adrenaline was pumping from the experience. So she slid up his body and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She whispered in his ear, completely unaware of the pack mind. "That was the hottest thing I have ever done. You felt amazing under me."

A bunch of laughter erupted from the forest and Jacob pushed up a little indicating Bella should get up. She stood from his back and waited for him to get dressed.

"What happened?" she wondered aloud.

He smiled at her, feeling bad for having to explain the pack mind to her this way. The guys walked past them and into the house to talk to Quil and Claire. They all avoided looking at Bella, knowing how embarrassed she was going to feel in about 5 minutes. When they got inside, they told Quil and Claire to be silent for a few minutes and they complied, unsure of what was going on.

"What?!" they all heard Bella shriek on the back porch. They should probably tell her about their superior hearing as well.

Bella stomped into the bedroom and quietly closed the door. They could all hear the bathroom door close, followed by the water in the bathtub turn on.

"That was funny shit!" Paul announced.

"What? Fill us in!" Quil persisted.

Paul crudely relayed the story about Edward's announcement of Bella's virginity and then Bella's comment to Jacob when they were all still phased. They laughed and turned to look at Jacob who was standing arms crossed, looking furious, as though smoke would start coming out of his ears.

Paul jumped up and ran out the door without looking back. They all chuckled at him, admitting that in the last decade, not much had changed except he imprinted.

Everyone made their way home, except Quil and Embry who were given night patrol again. Quil whined on the way out the door about not having children and getting stuck with the worst duties. Jacob called out that he could order him wolf for a week, and the man finally shut up, much to Embry's relief.

Jacob made his way to the bedroom. Bella was still in the bathtub and he had a feeling she'd try to stay in there to hide all night.

"Honey, everyone's gone. You can come out now," he called through the door. She didn't respond. She lay in the tub hoping she wouldn't die of humiliation.

"Bells," he called again. "If you don't respond, I'm going to open this door."

She sat debating if he was bluffing when suddenly he opened the door. She squeaked, pulling the bubbles over her body.

He surprised himself with his forwardness, but the way the wolf was feeling after that farce of a meeting and what she'd said in the backyard not so long ago, he was feeling brave.

"Is there room for two in there?" he boldly asked.

"What?" she gasped.

"You heard me," he said, as he pulled his shirt off over his head. She sat staring at his defined chest. "See something you like?"

She made a sound that Jacob thought sounded a lot like, "yeah." Then he quickly dropped his shorts and stepped into the tub with her.

Bella bent her knees and quickly pulled her legs up to her chest, covering herself. Jacob didn't have any modesty issues and stripped in front of her whenever he needed to now. But she didn't. He had never seen her naked and now he was in the tub with her. Her heart was racing and she was practically gasping for air.

"Bells, it's okay. Relax," he told her. He leaned in and waited for her to meet him in the middle. Finally, she controlled her breathing and scooted forward, keeping her legs crossed in front of her. Her lips met his in a too short kiss. He kept his hands on the edges of the tub, attempting to keep himself from grabbing her and ravishing her.

"I'm sorry I didn't explain it to you sooner. There are so many things about being a wolf. I forget what I've told you and what I haven't."

"It's just, I've never said anything like that to you, and the one time I do, agh!" she cried out.

"I liked it. The wolf loved it. The guys aren't embarrassed about it, they just knew that you would be, honey. Please don't be embarrassed about it. If you knew some of the other imprints' stories, you would realize that is tame," he assured her.

Tentatively, he let his hands hold her shoulders, so he could lean in and kiss her fully. She relaxed and let him, enjoying the searing kiss. It wasn't long before the kiss heated up and Bella allowed her legs to stretch out some, giving Jacob a view of her chest. The majority of the bubbles had since popped and he could see down into the water.

"Turn around," he whispered. She did as he asked and he pulled her body onto his as he stretched out into the tub. It wasn't quite big enough for his tall frame, but it was adequate. Bella squirmed a little at first, trying to cover herself from him.

"If you keep moving, I can't promise I'll be able to control myself," he warned, pushing himself up into her back, indicating that she was arousing him.

She let her head rest on his shoulder and he placed his warm hands on her hips. One hand at a time, he cupped water in his hands and let it drain across her body.

"You're beautiful, you know," he said. He turned and kissed her cheek enjoying the full view of her chest in front of him. "Can I touch you?"

"Mmm hmm," she responded.

His hands caressed her stomach and moved up to cup each of her breasts. "Perfect," he muttered.

"Small," she replied.

"No…just right," he said, tweaking each nipple lightly, eliciting the sweetest moan from her. He turned himself and her body just enough to kiss her deeply, enjoying the taste of her mouth, and the feel of her skin against his.

Before he convinced her to do something she'd regret, he told her they should get out and get to sleep. He had to get his kids up for school in the morning, so he didn't want to be too tired to wake up. But, he lifted Bella onto the floor mat and grabbed her towel, drying her body gently. He placed the gentlest kisses above each breast and above her belly button before wrapping the towel around her and stepping back. He dragged himself away and put on his boxers before climbing into their bed, holding the blanket up for her when she was ready.


	17. The View from the Top

Chapter 17

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I think you're going to like this one. Thanks for the many words of encouragement. Hope there are no more potholes, Plain Jane. Or plot holes...lol**

On Monday morning, Bella got up with Jacob to help everyone get out the door for school on time. Jacob took both kids to school, so Bella returned to the kitchen table to drink her coffee and read over the news.

Suddenly, there was a violent beating on the front door. Bella's heart was slamming inside of her chest and she looked around thinking about where the hell she could hide from a vampire. The banging continued as she stood frozen at the table.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Your jeep is outside, so I know you're in there!" the familiar voice yelled out loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood.

She ran to the door to keep her father quiet before people started calling around.

"Dad! My god, stop! I'm here," she called as the flung the front door open. As soon as she opened the door, she regretted it because standing at the door was not her father at all. It was the vampire from her nightmare, the red head's mate.

The moment she screamed, he grabbed her roughly and squeezed. "Shut up, little girl," he growled.

"Time to go," he announced, fleeing out into the forest, holding Bella in his painfully tight, cold grip.

Her heart was racing so fast, she thought it would explode in her chest. She slammed her eyes shut when she couldn't focus on anything around her. When the movement stopped, she realized that he had fled to the trees with her.

"Puppies can't climb the trees, can they?" he taunted her and the two wolves snarling ferociously at the base of the tree. They jumped and barked, their massive claws shredding the bark of the tree with each leap.

Bella started struggling, terrified of what was getting ready to happen to her, confused as to why the man from her dreams was here. He only squeezed her tighter.

"You know I can crush you like a bug in my arms, so quit, or I will," he sneered at her. She quit struggling physically, but decided to test out his supernatural hearing.

"Let me go!" she shrieked as loud as she could directly into his ear. The screaming only caused the wolves to roar louder. She could hear more howls in the distance and hoped that someone was coming to rescue her from this. "Let me go!" she screamed again.

"Quit screaming, bitch," the vampire said, as he slapped her so hard, he knocked her unconscious. He held her with one arm and began flying through the forest from tree top to tree top. The wolves followed his trail, but as he was promised, they stopped at the imaginary boundary line.

He tore through the field with the limp woman in his arms.

"What did you do to her?" Edward sneered when the other man walked up with Bella in his arm like a rag doll. He raced to him and grabbed her body away from him.

"Where's my _treat?_" the vampire made a disgusting sucking noise with his teeth.

"Your treat?" Edward asked. "You ate half the homeless population of Seattle! I think that was your treat enough. Now leave this area or I will kill you like I did your lovely, Victoria, James."

James roared in Edward's face, but he carefully laid Bella down before pouncing on the vampire, ripping his head from his body with a horrific metallic shriek. He pulled a zippo from his pocket and lit the pile of body parts on fire.

Edward dusted his hands as if he had cleaned up a pile of dirt, and then picked Bella up, running with her. His cell phone began ringing, but he ignored it, knowing Alice could now see Bella's future.

She was going to make a beautiful vampire. He was annoyed with himself for waiting to change her. She had wanted it in the beginning, but he wasn't ready to commit himself to her. He had other projects in the works. She wanted to finish college and work; it was only time to him. He had plenty of it and once she was turned, they had eternity.

It was up to him though to keep her away from other humans. If she made friends, she was more likely to want to leave him and he couldn't have that.

Unfortunately, his business bled into his personal life the day James and Victoria decided to hunt him down in New York. Bastards. He and Bella were out. She insisted that they go do something normal since it was a cloudy day. The fight pushed into an alley, where Bella stood screaming in shock. Alice found them and protected Bella while Edward finished Victoria off.

James was screaming at him, and promised he would be back for his human pet. Then he scrambled up the fire escape and left.

Bella was shivering and mumbling nonsense when Alice wrapped her in a coat and coaxed her back to her car.

She sped home and took Bella straight to Carlisle. Bella began screaming at them for endangering her life and that she wanted to go home to Washington. Edward waltzed in and told her that wouldn't be possible.

A fight ensued amongst the family members. Bella got hurt when Rosalie launched herself at Edward, swearing to kill him for bringing another human into their lives. The forced slammed them both into Bella, who had no hope of getting out of the way in time. Her broken body tumbled down the staircase in the Cullen home.

When Bella was conscious, it was Carlisle that dealt with her. He had given her heavy doses of pain killers and talked to her about what had happened. Of course, he gave her the version of the story they thought she should remember.

Edward was furious with Alice for not taking away Bella's cell phone. Charlie was on his way to see Bella after hearing that she had been injured. Carlisle had no choice but to transfer her to the hospital and allow the human doctors to care for her. Her spine had been broken and broken ribs pierced her lungs. It was difficult trying to convince the doctor that the simple fall had caused all of the damage to her body. So, Edward stepped in and persuaded the doctor with a bag full of cash. Edward sneered at the man, who was on the verge of losing his home to a gambling addiction.

Snapping out of the past, Edward waltzed into the cabin with Bella. He laid her down on the bed and put some logs in the fireplace to keep her warm. The last thing he wanted was for her to die of hypothermia before he could change her. He lit the kindling and stepped away from the flames, not wishing to catch himself on fire.

He returned to the bed and ran his white bony finger down the side of Bella's face.

"That disgusting flea bag thinks you belong to him. Ha! You've belonged to me since the moment we met," he cooed in a soft voice.

His phone rang again and it continued to ring. Finally, he answered the call from his sister.

"Yes, Alice," he said, agitated at her interruption.

"Edward, this plan is not going to work. You should leave her there and go. Please Edward, listen to me!" she begged on the line.

"You saw her as a vampire, Alice. It is going to happen and I've seen how wonderful she will be," he smiled, recalling the perfect vision in his memory.

"Something changed, Edward. You've got to leave," she continued her pointless begging.

"Bye, Alice! I've got a visitor!" he sang out. Then he crushed the useless device in his hands, tossing the pieces into the corner.

"Laurent!" he welcomed the other man, as he opened the wooden door to the cabin. Laurent smiled and held up his catch.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Alpha's wife! His imprint and his wife! Wonder what the flea bag will think of that, both snatched right from under his nose," he laughed.

Danni immediately began screaming for help when she heard what the other man said. She knew something was wrong, but she hoped it was only her that was in danger and no one else. To hear that the maniac had Bella too, now she had nothing to lose.

"You should stop that screaming, or you will be laying with Bella," he warned.

She glanced around the dark cabin room and waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. It was then that she saw Bella's limp form on a bed.

"Oh no! You killed her! You will be sorry when he comes for you. And I know he will. If you know any of their legends, you don't fuck with the alpha's imprint," she yelled at them.

"Such a vile mouth, you've lived with that mutt for too long," he complained. "Too bad because you would make a beautiful mate for my partner here, Laurent."

"I would rather be dead than be like you," she spat.

"You might get your wish," he smiled, evilly.

Her stomach revolted and she puked the contents of it all over the floor. She was thankful for once she had a large breakfast and coffee as she made a huge disgusting mess.

"Ugh! That's disgusting," he growled. He grabbed Danni and forcefully shoved her into a chair, quickly binding her to it. Then he went outside and came in with a hose. He hosed the vomit out the front door, not caring about the destruction of the rug or the cabin's wood floors.

"There! All your disgusting human breakfast is gone. Now, let me look at you," he traced his eyes over Danni's body.

She closed her eyes and prayed to any and every god and spirit that Jacob would find them and save them. He walked away muttering to himself about what the dog saw in her when there was such a creature as his Bella.

Danni saw him straighten out Bella's clothes and caress her body with his hands. Bella shivered uncontrollably when he did it. He mistook this as her being cold and added more wood to the fireplace.

"I hear your thoughts, woman. She is not shivering because she is grossed out by me. She loves me. She is shivering because my hands are much colder than hers. But not for long. Soon she will be just like me. I think _you_ will be her first meal when she wakes up!" he laughed.

She was really thankful that the pack had included her in meetings because she knew about Edward's abilities. It took some effort but she was able to clear her mind of everything except for the repeat track of hoping that Jacob and the pack would get there soon.

What seemed like days later, but was actually a few hours, Bella started to become aware. The last thing she remembered was being in the tree with the vampire she didn't know, so her heart was racing before her eyes opened. Edward darted over to her and sat beside her on the bed.

"It's okay, love. You are with me now. You are safe," he drawled, holding his palm against her face.

"Edward?" she asked in surprise. "Where's Jake?"

He growled at the question. She pushed her body up and looked around, seeing Danni tied to the chair, eyes desperate.

"Edward, what on earth is going on? Why is Danni tied up? I don't understand. What happened to the vampire that kidnapped me? Where are we?" she questioned him, as her panic rose in her chest. As she looked around the cabin, she noticed all of the furniture.

"Why is all of my dad's old furniture here? He sold it. How did you get it?" she asked again, her voice high pitched, bordering on the edge of hysteria.

"Give me a minute, love. You're asking so many questions and not giving me a moment to answer you," he gave her a dazzling smile, hoping to calm her. He was surprised when it didn't.

"I bought the furniture because you needed money to be taken care of, and you wouldn't accept it from me. Alice saw him deciding to sell it, so I arranged to buy it. I brought it here to the cabin, so we could have it once we were married. As for the filth that kidnapped you, he is ash. I killed him for laying a forceful hand on you."

Bella and Danni gasped. They both had the same thought, but only Bella's were silent from him.

"I have not 'flipped my shit' as you so eloquently put it!" he screamed at Danni. "I told you. Bella loves me and only me. She is to be my mate for eternity!"

"Those god damn dogs!" Edward shouted as he raced out the front door.

Bella scrambled up from the bed and fumbled trying to get Danni untied from the chair.

"Bella, take a deep breath and untie them. You can do it. I know you can," she said calmer than she felt.

Bella did as she told her and steadied her shaking hands. She was able to loosen the knots somehow and get Danni out of the ropes. Danni threw her arms around Bella and hugged her tight.

"Thank you. Let's get out of here," Danni said, heading toward the door.

"There's no point in trying to run. We can't run fast enough," Bella told her calmly.

"We have to try Bella, come on please, let's go," Danni pleaded, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Jake's coming. I can feel him," she said, rubbing her chest where the pain of his absence was lessening.

"Bella! Danni!" Paul screamed as he ripped the door off its hinges. "Let's go! The fucker took off, we've got to get you out of here!"

Danni grabbed Bella's hand and tugged her to the door. Outside, Paul had already shifted back to his wolf and was laying on the ground. They looked around, but it was only him.

"Get on, don't let go of me!" Bella screamed, hopping on Paul's broad back. Danni didn't waste time climbing on behind her and squeezing Bella's stomach. Bella leaned down and grasped Paul's fur and squeezed with her legs.

"Go Paul!" she commanded and he shot off into the woods. Soon, there were wolves flanking both sides as he ran full speed back to La Push. Bella couldn't believe how far away there were and how they even found her to begin with. Really, she didn't have a lot of brain power to process much at the time, so she clung to Paul and hoped that she would see Jacob soon.

Instead of taking them home, Paul took them to Billy's house. He skidded in the yard, trying hard not to launch their bodies from his back. They jumped off as soon as he was low enough to the ground. He phased back, with no regard for modesty.

"Jake says to get inside and stay there. He'll be back soon," Paul barked out before turning for the woods and phasing midair.

The women ran into the house to a stunned Rachel and Billy.

"Oh my god! You guys are okay!" Rachel screamed as she ran to them and hugged them both. "Are you hurt? Do you need the first aid kit?"

Rachel stepped back from them and glanced over their bodies. Both women seemed to be physically okay, but were obviously shaken up. She went to the fridge and grabbed the water pitcher, pouring them both a cold glass.

Danni rinsed her mouth a few times, spitting it out in the kitchen sink. Billy looked at her, confused.

"I got sick earlier. I needed to wash my mouth out. Sorry," she said quietly.

"It's okay. I understand," he nodded.

It wasn't long before Embry came in the house, announcing that everyone was on their way. The pack trickled in the house, dirty but all in one piece. They helped themselves to drinks, thanking Billy. Last Jacob came in the door, having given orders out to the remaining wolves.

He looked at the kitchen table where his wife and his imprint sat side by side, turned looking at him. He marched to them and put his body between the chairs. He wrapped his arms around both of them, placing kisses all over Bella, wherever he could reach. Danni tried to pull back from the hug, but he didn't let her go.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay. I wish I could tell you he was dead. Completely dead, but he got away from us. I'm sorry," he told them.

"We're okay, Jake," they both said at the same time. Then they all laughed. Jacob stood and looked over Danni, seeing that except for some light bruising on her wrists she seemed to be alright. He lifted Bella from her chair and placed her in his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her.

The pack talked about everything that had happened, hearing all sides of the story from the chasing wolves to the women and their experiences.

"That icy bastard!" Jacob cursed. "I knew we shouldn't trust him. They're playing up those supposed visions of the little one. Bullshit."

Lightly, Bella traced her fingers over Jacob's back. She seemed to forget that there were others in the room, watching her every move. But the imprinted wolves completely understood her need for touch and ignored it.

She was so thankful that he came for her. It was Paul that brought her here, but she knew that it was because of Jacob. She began placing gentle kisses on his neck and shoulder.

It was Paul that finally stood up saying he was tired and ready to head home. The pheromones his alpha and imprint were giving off were enough to set him rock hard in the middle of his Chief's house. He didn't want to embarrass anyone. Thankfully, his wife didn't cause an issue.

Rachel carried a sleeping Will out the door behind Paul and Danni carrying Ryker and Hope. The other pack members trickled out the door, Bella never stopping her adoration of Jacob when they left.

"I better get going, Dad," Jacob announced to his father, lifting his imprint and heading to the door.

"The wolf is just below the surface, Jake," Billy said, softly, not making eye contact with his son.

"I know," he answered.

When they got back to the house, Jacob sat Bella on the couch. The leftover reeking scent of vampire on the front porch was almost too much to handle. He grabbed a bottle of bleach and a rag, soaking the area. The bleach burned his nostrils, but it was better than the scent of rot and decay.

He scrubbed his hands off in the laundry room sink and put the bleach back on the high shelf.

"Come on," Jacob whispered to Bella as he lifted her up and carried her to the shower. He needed to get the vampire stink off of her and the wolf was insisting that she be covered in his scent.

He turned the knob on and pulled off his shorts, then began working on her clothes. He was sad to see that she was still in her pajamas. It seemed like it all started several days ago, not this morning. They stepped into the shower together, Jacob holding her under the warm spray for a bit before grabbing the soap and washing her body gently.

She stood still and watched him as he tenderly washed her and took care of her. The tears that filled her eyes went unnoticed until he looked up at her face and saw her crying.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I underestimated that bastard."

"No, Jake. It's my fault. I got involved with them in high school. I should have known better. I always knew something was off. I should have left as soon as I figured out what Edward was, not stick around and live with them," she cried.

"Well, I disagree. That's their fault for bringing you into their web of deceit. A young teenage girl, they snared you into their lies," he rinsed her body, running his hands over every inch of skin to make sure there wasn't any place missed. He wiped the tears from her face and looked in her eyes.

"Thank you, Jake," she whispered before kissing him on the mouth like she had wanted to since the moment he walked into the kitchen. He opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, allowing his warm tongue to taste every part of her mouth.

"Your turn," she told him, as she grabbed the soap and began her careful cleansing of his body. As he did, she didn't leave one inch of his body unexplored and it was clear that he thoroughly enjoyed her work. He rinsed his own body and turned the water off.

They dried off and when Bella went to her bag to grab something to sleep in, Jacob asked her not to.

"I just need to lay with you, skin to skin," he pleaded with her. She nodded and crawled up the bed to lay by him.

He turned so that they were chest to chest, rubbing his hand down her side.

"I don't know what I would have done if I lost you. You mean so much to me. You know that right?" he asked her.

"I know. I don't know how to explain it. But since the moment we met, it was just an instant connection. I guess it was the imprint, but I think if I had known you when we were younger, I would have loved you as much as I do now," she admitted, blushing at her own honesty.

"That makes a lot of sense to me. I think we would have been best friends," he told her, kissing her forehead and her temple.

"I love you too, by the way," he whispered. "I know you might find it hard to believe, but I knew for sure today, the moment I realized you were gone."

She leaned back to look up to his face. Her eyes gazed over him, and she thought about how handsome he was. He leaned down and kissed her.

Bella was panting and breathing fast. Jacob moved away from her lips so she could catch her breath and kissed down her neck to her chest and stomach. She held his face to her, running her hands through his hair. He didn't stop kissing her until he had kissed her absolutely everywhere. She was amazed at all of the feelings he brought forth from her body.

When they joined as one, she knew that it was right that she had waited all of this time for him. It was a night of exploration and satisfaction for the both of them. The wolf was satiated in the end when her body was completely covered with his scent, inside and out.


	18. Post Bond

Chapter 18

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Sniffle.

**I know I said it was back to work, but really the record setting number of readers yesterday was inspiring. Either it was a slow day in FF or you were enjoying this story.**

**Thanks for reading. Someone mentioned the joining/completing of the imprint and yes, I intended to keep it modest. I've never been much of a writer, sitting back for about 3.5 years reading FF, and I'm not there yet. So, glad you liked what was there, sorry if it wasn't enough.**

Jacob rolled out of bed, finding it hard to believe it was only Tuesday and feeling like it should have been at least Friday. He groaned, as he trudged into the kitchen, grabbing 2 mugs for coffee. Bleary eyed he carried them back to bed, setting Bella's on a night table by her side of the bed.

He sat on his side of the bed and sipped some of the black liquid, hoping it would send a jolt of caffeine straight into his body. A cool hand traced its way down his spine and he shivered, enjoying the feeling tremendously. She gave his butt cheek a light pinch and then giggled.

"Good morning," she said. She crawled up behind his body and wrapped her arms around his chest. He patted her arm with his free hand and leaned his head back, trying to see her face.

"Hey back," he said, his voice still rough with sleep. "You sleep okay?"

"Mostly," she told him. "I woke up in the middle of the night and started worrying about Edward…and Danni."

"I'll have wolves with both of you around the clock until that bastard is set on fire."

"Speaking of being with a wolf around the clock, do you want to go in to the store with me today? I need to work and I can't leave you alone."

"You want me to go to work with you? Won't that cause more rumors?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't really care. People are going to say what they want anyway. But today it's Paul and Kim working, so they already know. Do you understand how things changed last night? That we completed the imprint?" he checked with her.

"Emily explained a lot to me. So, yeah, I know we're bound for life now. I also know that you're likely to get all jealous if I'm around other guys, but that you only want to protect me. Or how when we're feeling all lovely the pack can smell the pheromones."

She paused as a memory resurfaced from the previous night. "Oh my gosh! That's why Paul wanted to get out of there so fast, isn't it?"

Jacob grinned and kissed her on the forehead to calm her down. The imprinted wolves understood and he told her that.

An hour later, Bella sat in Jacob's office on her ipad, reading a book Emily told her about. It was historical fiction and Bella was actually enjoying it, much to her surprise.

She was curled up in an upholstered chair, completely engrossed in the book, so she was surprised when she felt Jacob's warm lips on her neck.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I'm breaking into the DMV and stealing everybody's information to sell on the black market," she deadpanned.

"Oh, a funny one," he whispered in her ear, sending chills through her whole body. "Are you reading a trashy romance novel?"

She laughed, "No! It's just a story set during World War I."

"Are you ready to go out to lunch with me? Or would you rather pick something up and take it home?" he placed little kisses on her neck, weighing his silent vote.

"Home, huh? I noticed you started calling it home, instead of my house."

"I guess I did. That's because I've accepted everything. I know that Danni will always be a part of my life and I loved that house. But my home is with you," he admitted sweetly. He nibbled her earlobe and ran his palm down her arm.

"I'm really sore, so maybe go home with lunch but I don't think I'm up for what you want," she turned to look at him, admiring his handsome face again. She didn't think she'd ever get enough of it. To take the sting out of the rejection, she leaned forward and kissed him. He quickly reciprocated and deepened the kiss.

"Oh, Mr. Black! I'm so sorry! I'll come back later," Candy, the girl Paul had hired to help, cried out as she rushed out of his office. Jacob would have let her go, but she really was good at keeping their paperwork organized. Unfortunately, she wasn't in on the pack secrets.

"What's up, Candy?" he asked, standing up and stepping out the office door.

"I'm so sorry. I, ugh, I didn't realize," she stammered, squirming uncomfortably. "I just needed you to sign these checks for the bills."

"Okay. Let me look over them," he responded calmly.

"Candy, listen, I want you to know that despite whatever judgments you're making right now, Danni knows and our divorce will be finalized this week."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Black," she said, turning on her heel and walking away briskly.

"Don't waste any time," she muttered thinking he could no longer hear her.

He walked away knowing it was the first in a long line of people that would never understand his sudden divorce and new relationship. He reviewed the bills that Candy brought him and signed the checks for her. Then he took them back and left them on her desk without talking to her.

"I'm starving. Let's go," he said firmly to Bella as he walked out in the showroom to let Paul know they were going to leave.

He grabbed her hand and didn't let go until he went to close her door. When he got back in the truck, he grasped it again as he drove back home for lunch.

As soon as they got in the door, he attacked her lips. She kissed him back fervently feeling a sudden intense desire for him.

"I thought you were sore," he chuckled.

"My lips aren't," she smiled, kissing him some more.

Jacob lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. While they didn't make love again, he did love her body and she his. They laid cuddled together mutually satisfied when both of their stomachs grumbled loudly.

"Guess we better get some lunch after all," she said, getting up.

While Bella made them some sandwiches for lunch, Jacob stayed glued to her back with his hands on her wherever he could. He tried to feed her a chip when she finally batted his hand away.

"Jake! I'm not 3, stop it!"

"I want to take care of you," he snickered. He sat on a kitchen chair and pulled her into his lap, giving her space to eat, as his food was already gone. She ate her lunch enjoying his fingers and their light path over any skin she had exposed and maybe a little that she didn't.

Once she was done eating, she turned in his lap to straddle him. He grasped her hips in his hands, his thumbs pushing up under her shirt. She traced all over his chest, shoulders and face, memorizing each ridge and peak.

Her finger made a path over his smooth lip, as she eyed it. He grabbed her wrist and pulled it away, causing her to look up at him. His lips met hers again in a slow, passionate kiss.

"I've got to go back to work, but I'd rather go back to bed and stay there for days," he told her.

"I know what you mean. Let's go now," she said, standing and tugging his hand. "To work," she clarified when he headed toward the bedroom.

She squealed when he copped a feel on the way back to the truck, laughing as she sat down in her seat.

His phone rang as soon as he started the truck so when he answered it, the truck's Bluetooth system played the call.

"Jake? We need you at the highway border and make it fast!" Jared spluttered. The call was disconnected before Jacob could ask any questions. Jacob spun the tires on the road as he mashed the accelerator.

"Stay in the truck, Bella. Promise me you won't get out," he begged her, sounding panicked.

"I will, I promise," she assured him.

When he came upon the border, Jared was standing at the edge of the forest, dressed in only his cut off jean shorts.

"Stay with her," Jacob barked, as he went into the woods, removing his clothes as he marched forward.

Jared sat in the driver's seat, not saying a word, his eyes focused on the tree line.

"What in the hell is going on?" he wondered aloud.

"Jared, tell me or shut up," Bella warned him.

"I'll let Jake tell you, he's coming back," he said, hopping out of the vehicle as Jacob came out of the forest, steaming.

"New plan," he said, as he got in and whipped the truck around driving to Sam's house.

The couple walked up to the door and Emily opened the door smiling knowingly before her smile fell.

"What's wrong?" she questioned.

"I need to talk to Sam," Jacob said.

"He's upstairs asleep from patrol, but I'll go wake him," she responded, opening the door for them and disappearing up the stairs.

A groggy looking Sam came down the steps and trudged over to a ratty recliner.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Just had a visit with Rosalie Cullen. She said that Edward is furious about losing Bella. He has all these grandiose plans to change her. For a vampire, she seemed really disturbed," he relayed to his second.

"Do you believe her?"

"You know how I feel about trusting any bloodsucker. However, she filled me in on everything that really happened with Bella's accident," he said.

Bella gasped next to him, but Sam just nodded for him to go on.

The whole tale unfolded as Jacob filled them all in on what had happened to Bella from the alley, to her memory manipulation, to Edward's plans to change Bella and take her to Italy as his vampire bride.

Once he was finished they all sat silent. A pin dropping would have sounded loud even to dull human senses.

"What's in Italy?" Emily asked, riveted by the story, but also terrified for her friend.

"It's like vampire royalty," Bella croaked. "They're the rulers of the vampires. They enforce the laws."

"Laws?" Sam laughed. "Vampires have laws? Like what? Don't forget to wipe the blood off your mouth!"

"Well, mostly to keep their existence a secret," she said, uncomfortable being the expert in the room on the topic.

"How do you know all of this?" Jacob asked.

"Don't forget I lived with the vampires for 10 years," she said.

"I try every day," he murmured. Bella reached out and caressed his hand.

"Sorry," she whispered.

He put his hand over hers and continued the conversation with Sam. The older man was always calm and collected. Even though they hadn't faced any situation like this before, in their everyday lives Sam was always the one they could count on to remain composed.

"I think we need to meet with everyone and let them know what's happening," Sam finally said.

"You're right. Here or at my house?" Jacob asked.

"Here's fine. Bella and I can make dinner for everyone," Emily chirped, pulling Bella with her in the kitchen.

Emily whispered in her ear as soon as they were in private. "I want details, lots of details when we're alone next."

Bella blushed a bright shade of red, before looking at her friend.

"What?" she laughed. "What are friends for?

They began putting together a beef stew for dinner, each helping to chop vegetables and drop them into the pot. Bella commented on the size of it and Emily told her that once upon a time it was her job to feed them all.

"Now I know why you understood how much they ate," Bella grinned, dropping in a handful of onion.

Embry and Quil came first for a quick chat with Jacob while they inhaled some food. Quil snatched a roll as he walked out the door saying he would much rather run than be at the meeting that was about to happen.

Emily looked at Bella and shrugged, not sure why he would say that.

Jacob stood close to Bella as the pack started coming in the door in various states of dress. Some of them having coming from home or work, while Leah and Jared had come from patrol.

Leah sneered at Emily and Bella as she sat on a chair with her back to them. Jacob growled lowly in warning at the woman. Respect in the pack was a requirement, not an option.

"Another fucking imprint gets to steal a man," she spit out quietly. All conversation and motion in the room stopped.

Jacob stepped up behind her and placed his hands on the back of her chair, reminding himself not to break it in his hands.

"One more fucking word and I will drag your ass out of here and beat it. Am I perfectly clear, Leah? Shut up," he hissed, loud enough for the women to hear as well.

She was unable to speak after the command from her alpha, so instead she sat refusing to eat the food made by the two women she despised most. Not only had her cousin stole her fiancé, but she was now married to him. To top it off, her alpha imprinted, leaving his wife and family for another woman, said woman bringing the vampires that induced her own phase. She glared at everyone in the room since she was forced silent.

A kick to her chair wiped the scowl from her face, so she stared out the window instead.

The last wolf to come in Bella assumed was Seth since she didn't recognize him and he seemed the most out of place in the room. He smiled at Bella and walked over to her.

"Hi! I'm Seth," he said, holding his hand out to shake hers. She stuck her hand out and shook it back, instantly liking the young man.

Jacob again shared the story with his pack, making sure they understood the importance of Bella's safety.

"What about Danni?" Seth asked innocently.

"Of course we protect all humans," Jacob told him. "She's at school on the res every day. If we keep the borders secure, he won't be getting her in the middle of the day. When she isn't at school, she's at risk. So I want her with someone all of the time. I know this is hard on you guys. We aren't teenagers anymore and we all have lives. But the safety of the tribe is paramount. We have to work together."

"Has anyone seen anyone else with signs that they might be phasing?" Jacob asked the group.

It was Seth who spoke up again. "Collin and Brady were fighting in the street the other day."

"We need to keep a close eye on them. They can't phase in front of anyone," Jacob pressed.

Jacob dismissed the group and they all brought their dirty dishes to Emily. She and Bella washed everything up before she and Jacob took off.

"I've got to go pick up the kids from Rachel and Paul's. They haven't seen me and it's supposed to be my week," he told Bella as he backed out of Sam and Emily's yard.

"No problem," she said, feeling a tad nervous at seeing Danni now that they had completed the imprint. She was sure the other woman knew it would happen eventually, but she didn't really like the idea of facing her so soon.

"Whatever you're worrying about, will be fine," Jacob said, grabbing her hand as they walked up the sidewalk. She pulled back a little trying to get her hand free.

Jacob stopped and spun around to face his imprint. The wolf didn't take the slight well and he may have been harsher than he intended.

"What's your problem?" he snapped.

Bella recoiled from his tone and he could see the hurt instantly in her face.

"I'm sorry, honey. I'm so sorry," he leaned in to kiss her.

"Jake, please, not here in front of everyone," she pleaded bashfully.

"Bells, except for my children, there's not an adult in that house that doesn't understand what's going on. Danni is included in that. She might be uncomfortable with us, but she's going to have to get over it. We aren't going to make out in front of her and have sex in front of her. I'm only holding your hand because I know it calms us both down. So, please calm down. The only person that knows for sure is Paul. My scent is all over you now and I'm not sorry about that. The girls don't know and the kids are too young to even understand that," he said.

She nodded and began to walk toward the front door, when Jacob grabbed her arm gently and spun her back around. He placed a lingering kiss to her forehead, before clasping her hand and ringing the doorbell.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Hope squealed inside, thrilled to see her dad. "Miss Bella's here too!"

Rachel opened the door to let her brother in the house, smiling at Bella. Danni walked out from the bedroom straightening her t-shirt.

"Okay, guys, time to come home with Daddy," he told Ryker and Hope.

"Uncle Jake, can I sleep over at your house one night?" Will asked, hopefully. "Ryker and Hope have gotten to stay here and I want to have a sleepover at their house."

"If it's okay with your mom, we can do it soon, Will," Jacob promised his nephew.

"Yippee!" he cheered as he dashed off to his bedroom to pack a backpack.

"After this craziness is over," Rachel whispered to her brother, who nodded in agreement.

Rachel and Danni waved from the front porch as Jacob's Pathfinder pulled away. Rachel put her arm around her friend's shoulder as they went back in the house, knowing how much it hurt to watch her husband and kids drive away with another woman.

Danni reached up and patted her hand, before telling her she was going to go lay down for bed. She hadn't been sleeping well and after having been kidnapped by a vampire, she didn't sleep for shit.

She laid down and cried herself to sleep that night. Where was her life headed and why had such a painful thing happened to her? Was she not good enough for Jacob? Didn't she deserve to keep him?

Around 3 in the morning, she decided to call in sick to school. She wouldn't be effective as tired as she was feeling.

Since she wasn't at school, Embry was her assigned bodyguard for the day. He came to see her at Paul and Rachel's and asked her if she wanted to go hang out at his house so he could sleep. She agreed and drove him to his little house in the woods.

"Sorry to do this to you, but I'm beat," Embry apologized to her as they walked in. "Feel free to make yourself at home. Watch TV, make coffee, lunch, blankets are in the closet," he said, pointing to a door in the hall.

"It's no problem. I might sleep a little on the couch," she said, heading to the closet.

Embry took a quick shower before crashing on his bed. He slept like a rock for a few hours, but the sound of muffled weeping woke him up. Quickly, he shot up wondering where the sound was coming from when he realized it was Danni on the couch.

"Heyyyy," he drawled out. "What's wrong? What's going on?" He lifted her legs to sit on the couch and then placed them on his own. He rubbed them, trying to soothe his friend.

"Everything is so messed up, Em! I can't believe it. I'm trying, I really am. Bella is really nice and I can't hate her, even though I want to. I can already see how happy Jacob will be and I heard Paul telling Rachel they sealed the bond-so I know what that means," she sniffled before continuing her meltdown. "We aren't even divorced technically and he's already slept with her."

Embry didn't know what to say. He'd been in Jacob's mind, so he knew the tormented feelings the other man had been about the whole situation. The wolf side of him knew all about the desire of the wolf to mark its territory. But the human side of him understood where Danni was coming from. He pulled her body up against his as he got them comfortable on the couch. He held her as she cried and sobbed until at last she fell asleep in his warm, safe arms.


	19. Get Off My Ass!

Chapter 19

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Since you asked so nicely. Thanks for the feedback. Hope this doesn't let you down.**

Things remained eerily quiet, but no one believed that Edward was gone. They knew he was sitting back biding his time to attack again. Patrols and guards did not relax.

Friday, the day of Danni and Jacob's divorce came round. Neither was excited about the end of their marriage. Jacob felt guilty about everything that happened. It didn't seem fair to his ex-wife and his kids. He shook his head, finding it hard to believe he was throwing around words like "ex-wife" and "imprint." Two things he didn't think would ever apply to him.

Seth agreed to stay with Bella at the store while Jacob went out to run an errand. He'd already run the idea by Bella and she agreed it would be great. So he stopped by the local jeweler and picked up the custom order before going back to the florist to pick up a vase of flowers. It was a little sad that this time he was buying flowers for Danni as a good-bye.

Bella helped Jacob finish getting dressed, and gave him a quick kiss when she hopped out of the truck at Sam and Emily's house. She was going to stay there with them while Jacob was out. They had plans to do some prep cooking for Bella. She wanted to have some soup bases and other things for making big meals for the pack when they stopped in to eat.

Jacob took a deep breath as he pulled up to Rachel and Paul's house, where he told Danni he would pick her up. Their divorce was final, so it was a bittersweet dinner. He knew from Embry's thoughts that Danni was struggling with everything and he was sorrier than she probably knew. He was sure it looked like his life had turned to roses while hers turned to shit. It wasn't really the case, he was a wolf, the alpha wolf no less, and there were vampires threatening his family.

As soon as he put the truck in drive, Danni walked out of the house. She was dressed in a pretty black dress Jacob recognized from their last anniversary. It was a different feeling to look at her and appreciate her beauty but not feel the same attraction.

When she opened the truck door, she smiled at him.

"Hey, ex-husband!" she joked.

"Hey, Danni," he grinned at her. "You look nice," he complimented. "I got these for you. I don't want to leave them in the truck to get ruined." He shivered at the inadvertent symbolism. The last vase had been ruined in his accident that led to his meeting of Bella.

"Thanks! I wore this dress on my last hot date," she said, as she buckled up.

Jacob drove to the restaurant, chatting lightly with Danni about school, the kids and her plans for the next week when she had the kids. She had talked with Embry, Seth and Leah and the 3 wolves agreed to rotate sleeping over so the kids could sleep in their own beds. He nodded his understanding of the plan, even though he already knew about it. He'd had to talk to the 2 newer wolves about the seriousness of the situation. He knew they were physically capable of defending his family.

"I'm glad we could do this," Jacob started to talk once their dinner arrived. "It's probably rare that a couple goes out to dinner together on the day they get divorced."

"Rare?" Danni chuckled. "Pretty sure, we're the first."

"Yeah, you're right," Jacob responded quietly, looking down at his dinner. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm sure Embry already spilled, didn't he?" She looked to Jacob for confirmation of her prediction. She didn't blame Embry. She wished her grief could remain private.

"You don't have to hide it from me, you know. I'm still your friend, we are still a family. It's just a little different now," he reassured her.

"Jake, you have a lot going on. I don't want to burden you with my problems."

"You are never a burden to me. Things might be different, but you will always be a part of my life. Bella knows that and she doesn't want to interfere in that or act like she's a mother to our kids. She knows they already have the best one," he shot her a smile, the one she always loved.

"I know. I'm trying, Jake. I really am. It's just I've been scared and you aren't there anymore. It's hard to adjust to," she shrugged, pretending like it was nothing.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could be there for you the way you need me to be now. But I'm willing to talk to you and listen. If you ever feel scared, let me know and I can double up patrols around the house." She nodded once at him, letting him know she understood.

"I got you a gift," Jacob announced as he pulled the box from his pocket. Danni eyed the black velvet box. She knew that it was from the local jeweler because Jacob had purchased other jewelry for her from there over the years. She would cherish it always, a lifetime symbol of their love. One day she'd pass it on to her daughter and potential daughter-in-law.

"Um, Jake…I'm not sure you should give me whatever that is," she hesitated.

"Open it, and I'll explain it to you," he said.

She opened the box and looked at the beautiful ring it held. There were four stones set in a row, each a different color in a white gold band. She looked up to Jacob, a little unsure, but thinking she understood.

"It's a family ring. Each of our birthstones are set in it. I just wanted you to know I am always a part of your life, even if you and I aren't married anymore. You are the mother of my two greatest achievements and you will always be my friend, I hope anyway," he barked out a laugh.

"Oh, Jake, it's beautiful and it means so much to me that you would do something like this for me," she gushed as she put it on her recently bare finger. She knew that her ring finger was traditionally saved for a wedding ring. Truthfully, her finger was used to spinning her wedding ring around and it felt weird not wearing it any longer.

Just then the waitress walked up and saw the ring box, "Oh, did you guys get engaged?" Her eyes alight at the couple.

Jacob cleared his throat and looked at Danni. She laughed and took it in stride, "Nope! Just celebrating our divorce! Also, can I have a separate check? I don't want my ex-husband buying my dinner."

The waitress walked away thinking over Danni's words and looking back at them wondering if they were the first divorced couple to have dinner out together.

"Why did you say that?" Jacob laughed.

"It was funny. Did you see her? She's probably still thinking it over back there."

The young woman came back with two black trays and a huge smile. When she set them down, Jacob's receipt had a hot pink "call me" with the girl's number. He held it up so Danni could see. They laughed heartily. Danni knew it wasn't the first time Jacob had been slipped a phone number with a bill.

Jacob pulled out the cash to cover both checks and insisted that he would buy her dinner. Danni tried to stop him, but he was as stubborn as ever, so she finally gave in so they could leave the restaurant.

Danni waved to Jacob and the kids as they left the driveway, feeling better about everything. She was sure that she'd find another man eventually, though she wasn't sure if he'd be as wonderful as Jacob.

Bella and Emily showed Jacob and Sam the boxes and containers that they wanted packed up in the Pathfinder for Bella to take home. Then they visited with the couple for a half hour or so before going back home.

Ryker was the first to ask what the weird looking juice was and Bella explained how she would use the liquids in her cooking. Ryker shrugged it off and went to his room to put his things away. If the food looked like that, he was going to have to figure out a way to feel sick during dinner.

Bella packed things away in the freezer and pantry while Jacob helped Hope wash her hair in the bathtub. She had begged to take a bath in the big bath and he finally let her. For the young girl, it was pretty much a miniature swimming pool.

Again, the pack got into a routine. They didn't drop their guard, but they were feeling complacent with the situation. Maybe Rosalie and Emmett had convinced Edward to leave Bella alone. But Jacob knew better.

As time passed, he became increasingly agitated. He wanted to put the crap to bed and get on with his life. Bella took the brunt of his moods which ranged from angry, to frustrated, to downright obsessed with covering her body in the wolf's scent. There were days she had to tell him enough was enough because her body couldn't take it.

She went to work with him and would sit out in the workshop watching him sculpt wood and turn furniture into beautiful pieces of art. Often, she complimented his talent and started talking about him making things for their house.

This led to a conversation about them building their own house. Bella didn't complain exactly, but often commented on how little space their current kitchen had for the huge men coming and going. He told her that they could start looking for property to buy to build the house, but he wasn't sure he was up for the build yet. There were too many things going on in his life for him to add that stress to his plate.

The summer had been a mostly happy time. Bella spent a lot of time with Danni and the kids, neither Jacob nor Danni concerned with their weekly custody arrangement when Danni was out of school. They would go to the beach with Embry or Seth, and watch the kids play with their "uncles."

Billy and Charlie even started to get to know each other better, going out fishing together as though they had been friends their whole lives. Jacob joked and said it was like love at first sight. Charlie came around for dinners every now and then, and worried aloud, usually, that if he didn't eat fast, he'd lose a hand trying to get some dinner.

Bella started to get annoyed with the way Jacob was becoming so overprotective. They had completed their imprint before the start of summer vacation and it was now nearing her birthday. Sometimes Bella would have to beg Jacob to give her space when he wasn't at work. She started going with him regularly, doing the work that Candy had been doing. She told him there was no point in paying someone for something she could do for free. So she would go in for about 10 hours a week and sort through the bills and file invoices. But Jacob would "pop in" every 20 minutes or so to make sure she was okay.

Emily and Bella were sitting at the former's kitchen table one late summer afternoon. Bella had convinced Jacob to go out and run patrols with Embry and Quil. Sam had promised Jacob that he would stay in the house with the women and only let Bella out of his sight to use the bathroom. She huffed when she heard the command, which she began to recognize as a slightly different pitch in his voice.

In the kitchen she rolled her eyes at her friend. "He's driving me insane!" Bella grumbled. "I love the man, but I seriously need space to breathe. I can't stand when he guards the bathroom door while I'm in there. It's bad enough knowing he can hear it all clear as day across the house. Does he have to listen while I'm on the toilet from 5 feet away? It makes me nervous and I've been getting constipated."

Emily laughed. "You know this sounds a lot like Jared when Kim was pregnant. He'd follow her everywhere like a little lost puppy. She told him she'd take a frying pan to his face if he didn't stop." Emily chuckled as she remembered the day, watching Kim's face turn so red with anger. She was usually such a passive and soft spoken girl.

Emily looked up to see Bella's face ghostly white and staring at her, seemingly unable to speak.

"What? What's wrong?" Emily asked searching around the room. Sam immediately came running in to see what was wrong. He looked at Emily and shook his head, he wasn't sure what was up with Bella. He couldn't hear, see or smell anything out of the ordinary.

"Bella? Bella, what is it?" she said, grabbing Bella's arm to get her attention.

"Do you think…?" she couldn't say it. She'd just gotten Charlie to accept her peculiar relationship with Jacob and now this! Her father would never speak to her again. And, she and Danni had been building their friendship. She could count that out now. Great, just great. Everyone would hate her just as much as Leah did. She started to hyperventilate.

Jacob stomped into the room and grabbed her.

"What's wrong? Why are you so upset? I can hear your heart beating out of your chest halfway down the road!" he asked her in a rush.

"Can we go home?" she asked, afraid.

"Of course," he said, quickly scooping her up and racing out the front door with her in his arms. He drove off without another word to Sam or Emily.

"What the hell just happened?" Sam asked, perplexed.

Emily smiled at him. The man needed to use the brain he had sometimes. She sat quietly and stared at him wondering when he'd put two and two together.

"Do you think she's…" he finally asked her. He tilted his head toward the front yard, with a look of surprise on his face.

"I think she could be. You know how protective he's gotten lately. His wolf probably knows but the man is too preoccupied to figure it out. I think she has an inkling now and they'll figure it out one way or another soon."

"Woah," was the only intelligible thing Sam could get to come out of his mouth at that moment.

In Jacob's truck, he drove with his hand entwined in Bella's. After she did her best to calm down, she asked Jacob to stop by the grocery store telling him she needed to run in and grab something. He went to follow her, and she balked. This wasn't how she wanted him to find out.

"It's the grocery store, Jake. Do you really think he's just sitting around the grocery store, when he doesn't even eat, waiting to kidnap me?"

"Bells, I don't know what that crazy mother fucker has up his sleeve. But things have been quiet for way too long. I'm restless. I can't explain it. The wolf doesn't want you out of his sight. Please don't fight me on this. There's nothing you could buy in that grocery store that would embarrass me. I've bought pads and tampons before with Danni. Hell, I've had to buy medicine for yeast infections she had."

She gave him a look at that comment. Finally, she sighed and got out of the truck, waiting for him at the front. He wrapped his hand around her small one and rubbed his thumb across the back in silent apology. It wasn't something he understood, but he knew that the wolf was getting worse by the day. The man had to put every bit of self-control into keeping him from keeping her in bed every single day.

Bella led Jacob to the aisle with all of the feminine hygiene products. When she stopped in front of the section with the pregnancy tests, she glanced over the boxes trying to figure out which one to buy. Jacob mistook her visit and pointed out the kind of treatment Danni preferred for her yeast infections.

Her face flushed red and she quickly reached out and grabbed a random box before rushing to the checkout. Jacob was hot on her heels, the petite woman not able to outrun his large frame. His long stride was almost 3 of hers. She put the box on the belt and took out her debit card.

"It was declined," the pimple faced teenage boy informed her, rather loudly she thought.

Jacob opened his wallet and handed the kid a $20 bill and Bella, mortified, took the bag from the bagger. They walked in silence to the truck.

When they got in, Jacob found that he was finally able to open his mouth and speak again. "When was the last time you had a period, honey?"

She huffed, trying to rack her brain. It had been a while, but she figured it was because she was so stressed.

"I'm not sure, a while. At least since May, maybe before," she admitted quietly. "I've been so stressed out since the whole Edward thing, I figured it was from that."

Jacob let out a loud rush of air and backed out of the parking space. He started thinking back to every little detail of Bella's life. He was with her so much, he analyzed every little thing he could remember. Was she nauseous? Did she eat more than usual? Were her breasts tender? They knew the minute Danni was pregnant because her boobs hurt like crazy. Jacob couldn't think of anything unusual except his wolf was insanely protective.

Now that he'd thought about it, Jacob was dying to know. He was excited. Another child. He loved being a dad. He started fantasizing about seeing Bella all glowing and pregnant. When he drove by the Ateara's General Store, he stopped and ran in to grab a bottle of juice. He dropped a $5 bill on the counter and ran out, not wanting to leave Bella unprotected.

"Drink up," he told her. "You've got to build up some pee."

Bella snorted. Great, the overprotective gene was going to kick into supersonic speed now.

She casually walked in the house and changed her clothes, grabbed a snack and sat on the couch with her bottle of juice. Jacob didn't talk. He sat beside her, his foot tapping incredibly fast on the floor.

"Would you stop it?" she snapped, exasperated.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Be patient. When I have to pee, I'll go pee. You can go outside and not hover around me like a damn mosquito. I can pee all by myself and I don't need you listening in."

"I'll try."

"You will, Jacob Black," she commanded him forcefully.

He groaned and turned the TV on. The news could be a great distraction from the fact that the wolf was pleased with the idea of his imprint carrying his pup. It made him lustful and Jacob knew that was the last thing on Bella's mind at the moment.

He'd learned that the first time, when Danni announced she was pregnant with Ryker. She had made him the cutest little announcement with a post it on top of a prego jar that said, "Guess what, I'm…" He tried to caress her body to express his excitement and she'd elbowed him square in the junk. Incredible aim that one.

Of course he was thrilled with the idea, but he wasn't so sure about Bella. They hadn't discussed it or planned it like he had when he was married. He hated to keep comparing the two situations, but it was the only frame of reference he had.

Jacob sat on the couch, drumming his thumbs on his chest or spinning them in circles.

Bella stood up and told him in no uncertain terms to go outside for 4 minutes and to not come back unless she called for him. She stood in front of the couch watching him with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him to go out front.

Begrudgingly he went out, but he stood on the front porch listening to her to make sure she was okay. He knew she was worried about him hearing her pee or even pass gas, but he didn't care about those things. When you were in a pack of shape shifting wolves, you heard that kind of stuff on a regular basis. They'd all run through Quil's green clouds of toxic fumes at least once.

He watched the time on his phone and went in the house in exactly 4 minutes. He barreled straight for the bathroom and found Bella sitting on the toilet staring at the stick.

"So?" he asked, holding his breath.

She looked up with misty eyes. She was wondering how he would feel about all this. They'd barely talked this afternoon about it and they certainly hadn't talked about having children at all. When did they have time between work, the pack and being on guard for crazed vampires?

He stepped toward her slowly. His warm hand wrapped around her wrist and his other hand took the test and set it on the counter without looking at it. He pulled her into a strong, but not too firm hug.

"Whatever it is, honey, I'll be happy. I know we haven't talked about it. If you are, I'll be over the moon to be a dad again. If you aren't, that's fine too. We'll start planning if you want," he whispered to her, trying to reassure her.

She reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the test. She couldn't find her voice to tell him, so she showed him the digital readout. His keen eyes picked it up right away.

He hooted and picked her up running out of the bathroom to the bedroom.

"We're pregnant!" he cheered. Then he kissed her passionately and was surprised to find that she was just as lustful as he was. They made slow, tender love that afternoon and evening, making promises for the future.

Jacob lay with Bella spooned in front of him. He lightly stroked her creamy skin. She cuddled his arm that was under her and wrapped around her belly. His warm hand pressed firmly to her front, subconsciously protecting his unborn pup.

Bella pushed herself back into him, indicating she was ready to continue their marathon lovemaking session. Jacob groaned as he pushed back against her.

"So being pregnant makes you a horny beast, huh?" he joked as he placed kisses down her neck and shoulder. She didn't answer with words. She lifted her right leg, giving him access to her center, where he pushed himself again bringing them both to satisfaction.

"Jake?" she whispered, close to sleep.

He yawned, exhausted from the day's events and incessant worry. "Yea, honey?"

"I'm broke," she cried.

**Still there? ;)**


	20. The Pregnancy Revealed

Chapter 20

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

It was official. They were pregnant. Jacob grinned like a loon as they walked out of the doctor's office. True, it was unexpected but he was happy about it. Bella was panicking a bit because she didn't know she was pregnant for 4 months. Four months? Isn't that something out of an awful TV show like Jerry Springer?

The doctor assured her things appeared to be fine and that it was more common than she thought for women to miss a pregnancy. She asked a lot of questions-why wasn't she feeling symptoms? (_Some women don't, he assured her). _Why was her stomach as flat as before? _(Every woman is different, especially during their first pregnancy when their bodies are firmer). _

Would the baby be okay since she didn't know and she hadn't had any prenatal care? _(He couldn't say with 100% certainty, but he said the ultrasound didn't show anything of concern that day, but they would watch her closely.)_

Bella carried her plastic bag of vitamin samples, pamphlets and papers all about being pregnant. She was a little nervous about the baby coming out of her body, but overall she was pretty excited. This wasn't something she ever considered in her time with Edward. She couldn't even be intimate with him, let alone think about having a baby. So she didn't think about it. However, with Jacob, things had been such a whirlwind. It still hadn't been on her mind. Though with all of the sex, she should have considered the possibility.

Jacob planned to tell the pack that day. They'd all certainly noticed something was up, but he was going to tell them for sure. He wasn't sure how the news would be taken by everyone. He knew that Embry and Quil would be happy for him. He also thought Sam was the most accepting of the imprint, so he'd likely be happy too. The newest wolves, Colin and Brady probably wouldn't care at all. His biggest concerns were Paul and Leah for completely different reasons.

Leah had been a constant pain in Jacob's ass. He had to get on her more than any of the other wolves. It was easy to silence her mouth, but not her thoughts. When they were out in the forest running patrols, her thoughts were angry and dark. For her sanity, he wished that she hadn't returned to La Push. The others didn't have such a hard time adjusting. It was those reasons that he thought she would lash out at the pregnancy news. He was prepared to deal with her as always. He hoped it didn't come to blows.

Paul and Rachel had spent a lot of time with him and Danni. They were a tight unit and he thought Rachel would be pretty defensive of her friend. His brother-in-law would go with whatever his sister set out. Jacob definitely didn't want things to get ugly. He thought that he and Danni were co-parenting well. It would really mess shit up if Rachel decided to upset the apple cart.

"You're thinking pretty deeply over there," Bella noticed, as she saw Jacob in deep concentration while driving them home from their doctor's appointment.

He smiled. "Sorry. Thinking about sharing the news with the pack."

"You think they'll be happy for us?"

"I do," he told her. "Most of them anyway."

"Except Leah," Bella grumbled, thinking of the one woman that scared the complete crap out of her. Bella didn't mess around with Leah at all. She wasn't going to rile her up if she could help it.

Jacob suddenly veered off the side of the highway in Forks. Bella looked around and asked him if everything was okay. He promised her it was. He turned toward her in his seat and looked at her face. His hand reached out and softly brushed down the side of her face. She shivered from the tenderness of it.

"What's going on, Jake?" she asked him, concerned about his shift in mood.

"I…I don't think I can do this right. I'm not even sure how you feel about this at all," he started.

Bella interrupted, "I'm happy about the baby, Jake. I promise."

He kissed her to silence her. "I know you are. Can you be quiet and let me finish?"

She nodded to prove she could.

"We haven't talked about it and I only got divorced a little bit ago. But, we're having a baby and we're imprinted, so I know we're going to be together for a long time," he continued on.

"Jake, spit it out," she said, frustrated with his endless talking.

"Marry me. I want to have the traditional Quileute wedding with you. It's a whole thing and I didn't do it with Danni because I'd thought the wolf was gone. We're having a baby and I want to take care of you. I don't want you worried because your debit card got declined at the grocery store. You can work at the store and you'll get a paycheck. Then when it's time for the baby, you can stay home," he rambled on, not giving her a chance to answer his question.

He looked up into her face. Her brown eyes were wide and seemed to be filling with tears. She sniffled, giving way to the full blown tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. We don't have to get married. It's okay, really. Whatever you want," he backtracked.

"Yes," she whimpered.

"What? Yes?" he asked, surprised.

She nodded.

"I don't have a ring yet. We can pick one out together," he admitted. "We can go right now. Do you want to go right now?"

"It doesn't matter. I don't need anything fancy."

"Let's go look," he said, kissing her fully before turning back to drive to the jewelry store.

In his excitement of the afternoon, he didn't really think through his plan. He took Bella to the jeweler that he had bought jewelry from for Danni. The last thing he bought was the family ring, a most unusual divorce gift. So, the engagement ring shopping was pretty uncomfortable for all involved. The jeweler asked how Mrs. Black was doing and if he was there to pick out something for her. Then he glanced at the way Jacob's arm was wrapped around Bella and once he announced he wanted to see engagement rings, the uncomfortable silence followed.

Finally, Bella told Jacob she wasn't feeling too well and wanted to get home for a rest. Either he could surprise her with something, or they'd have to try another store. She felt like she was wearing a giant red A on her shirt. Bella could only imagine the jeweler's face had she told him she was pregnant too.

The pack met in Jacob's backyard for that night's meeting. Since Jacob was unsure how the news would go over, he kept everyone outside, while Bella stayed inside. She was startled when she heard loud yelling in the backyard.

"That is some seriously fucked up shit, Jake!" She glanced out the window to find it was Embry that was standing, shaking furiously. Her fiancé stood looking equally mad, staring him down.

"What is your deal, Embry?"

"Do you give a shit about Danni at all or have you forgotten all about her and your kids in your imprint induced haze?" Embry screamed.

"I have not forgotten about them at all. How dare you insinuate that!" he yelled back. Of all the angry wolves he expected, Embry wasn't one of them.

"It looks like it to me. You dump your wife and move right on with your imprint. I like Bella. She's a really nice girl and all, but you guys should have taken precautions not to get pregnant so soon. That's a complete slap in the face to Danni."

"I will not explain myself or justify myself to you, Embry, or anyone else for that matter. I cannot believe that you think this whole situation hasn't ripped me to shreds inside! Because it has. I was heartbroken over the end of my marriage. I never wanted to imprint! But I did!" he roared in his friend's face.

Bella gasped. She didn't hear the rest of Jacob's speech about how he was glad he did, how at peace he felt and excited he was to be having a child with her. She had grabbed her purse and ran out the door. Her jeep pealed out of the driveway and she sped off. Her eyes were blurred with tears and she didn't know for sure where she was even headed.

She cursed as she realized she didn't have any money in her checking account. How the hell would she get anywhere without money? Ugh. Since she couldn't go anywhere else, she resolved to get to Charlie's house. She focused her mind on getting there and didn't pay attention to anything else.

Stone-faced she walked up the sidewalk to the front door. Charlie's cruiser wasn't there, but she pulled her keychain out and unlocked the front door. She trudged up the stairs and went into her old room. Over the summer, she had packed the few things she had there and took them home-to Jacob's house. The bed was made still, so she lifted the covers and pulled them over her head sobbing. She'd been through some awful things in her life, but sheer heartbreak hadn't been one of them.

Her cellphone rang over and over downstairs, but she didn't have the heart to go get it. It didn't matter anyway. Nothing he could say would calm her now. He didn't want her. It was only the supernatural magic of imprinting that pulled them together. Now she was pregnant with his child and looking at being a single mother. It was like Fate slapped her in the face for ruining a perfectly good marriage.

Exhausted from crying for hours and the week's excitement of the pregnancy, Bella fell into a deep sleep. She didn't hear the pounding on the front door. Nor did she hear the wolves howling and snarling in the forest behind her house. Had she been looking out the window, she would have seen the fight that ensued between Jacob and Leah, when Leah jibbed him saying he got what he deserved.

In the end, he respected her right to privacy and fell asleep under her bedroom to the sound of her steady heartbeat. His heart tore at the residual shudders in her breathing from the time she spent crying. He wanted nothing more than to climb the tree by the house and climb in her window to curl up beside her.

The sound of hushed voices woke Jacob in the dawn hours. The sun was beginning to lighten the sky and he could hear Charlie asking Bella what brought her back home. She grumbled out something about not being ready to talk about it. She promised Charlie should would be okay before telling him she needed a shower. She tried to stifle the sounds of her tears in the shower, but his superior senses could hear the shudder in her breaths.

Jacob got dressed and tried to wipe the wrinkles and dirt from his clothes. He walked around the front of the house and knocked on the front door. Charlie opened the door, shocked at the man standing in his front doorway. He looked like he'd spent the night on the ground.

"What did you do to my baby girl?" he hissed at the man, not giving one damn about the fact that he was 8 inches taller and solid muscle.

"Please let me talk to her. It was a misunderstanding."

"She doesn't want to see you. So leave," Charlie barked out, shutting the door in Jacob's face.

Jacob spun toward the road and growled loudly. He was furious with himself. Embry's attitude had come out of left field. To make things worse, when they all heard the jeep pull away, Leah laughed. She'd outright laughed and said he got what he deserved.

The whispering began again when Bella got out of the shower asking Charlie who was at the door. When Charlie confirmed it was Jacob, her heartbeat sped up.

"Did he leave?" she asked.

"I don't know. How did he even get here? He didn't have a car," Charlie observed.

"I'm sure somebody gave him a ride. He probably left with them already," she said, realizing she had to tread carefully to keep Charlie from learning any of the secrets.

"Well, I'll be home until lunchtime. We can hang out and watch some TV," Charlie offered. Jacob groaned and headed out into the woods to patrol the perimeter of Charlie's property, making sure that everything was okay.

"Sounds perfect, Dad. How about I make us some eggs and toast?" Charlie nodded and headed into the living room, putting on the morning news.

Bella brought their plates into the living room after she'd prepared the quick breakfast. They ate in silence, while watching the news. The newscaster shared the picture of a teenage girl who'd gone missing in the last few days and her family was pleading with anyone that knew what happened to her to come forward. Bella couldn't swallow the lump in her throat and she raced to the kitchen trash can before emptying the contents of her stomach. She hated having only one bathroom upstairs.

"You okay, Bells?" her dad asked, standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway. 

"I'm fine," she groaned, going to the sink to rinse her mouth.

"You look pretty queasy. Are you sure? Can I get you something? More toast? Take you to the doctor's office?" he pressed.

"Dad, there's something I need to tell you," she stammered.

"Just don't tell me you're pregnant," he grouched. Then he looked at her. She wouldn't make eye contact with him. Damn it, he thought.

"How far along are you?" he asked, sighing.

"Sixteen weeks," she squeaked out.

"Are you effing kidding me?" he cried out, loudly. Jacob came running out of the woods and began knocking urgently on the front door. Charlie marched to the front door, hoping like hell it was that bastard on the other side. He ripped the front door open and glared at the man that had impregnated his daughter and pushed her away.

"I thought I already told you to leave," he yelled out.

"Charlie, please. Please let me see Bella. I have to explain. It was a misunderstanding. If she would just hear me out, I think this could all be resolved. I asked her to marry me and she said yes. I meant it. I love her with my whole heart. I want to marry her. I know it's hard to understand everything. Me and Bella meeting was meant to be. I need her back on the reservation where we can keep her safe from Cullen," he pleaded.

"Cullen?" Charlie perked up.

"Yes, that piece of shit is after Bella. He's upset she won't go back to him. I have somebody protecting her 24 hours a day, but we can't do that as easily here."

"I'm the Chief of Police, in case you forgot, Jacob. I think I can keep my daughter safe. In fact, I might shoot you in the balls and she will never be safer," he laughed in a high pitch cackle, almost on the verge of losing his extensive patience.

Jacob stepped back, even though he was pretty sure Charlie would not hurt him.

"I think it's too late to shoot my balls off," Jacob joked, realizing instantly that was the absolute wrong thing to say. He raised both hands, "I'm sorry. Bad joke, bad joke!"

"Charlie, I am going crazy without Bella. I'm saying crazy shit, I'm not thinking straight. Bells, honey, please talk to me," he called out into the house.

He could see her small fingers curl around Charlie's arm. "Dad, I can handle it from here. I'll meet you on the couch."

Charlie shot Jacob one last dirty look before stomping back to the couch. He was muttering under his breath and Jacob was glad she couldn't hear him. "No good piece of shit dumps his wife and knocks up my girl. What does she see in him anyway?"

"Jake, you made yourself very clear yesterday," she said, her eyes bloodshot and swollen from all of the crying she had done. "You hate that you imprinted on me. So stop trying to apologize. I can't believe I ruined your marriage. This was such a huge mistake. I'm the biggest idiot. I loved you and I thought you loved me. But I see now that it was just the wolf part of you. The human clearly wishes I was gone. So take this as your free pass to leave. Don't worry about me anymore." She forced back the tears until she gently closed the door and locked it. Her body slid down the door and she let the tears silently slide down her face.

Jacob raced to the woods where he shredded his clothing the moment he was in the cover of the underbrush. He ordered Jared to Bella's house and raced through the trees waiting for his fellow wolf to arrive so he could run. The moment Jared was close enough, Jacob took off, running at full speed around the border of La Push, checking closely for any sign of Cullen.

Once he'd exhausted himself, he ended up at Rachel and Paul's house. Billy was there with Danni and the kids as well. Danni was shocked at Jacob's appearance when he walked in the house.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Roll in the dirt or what?"

His facial expression was enough to tell her that he was torn apart about something.

"Is Bella okay?" she asked.

Tears started falling uncontrollably down his face and he wiped them away as quickly as he could.

"Daddy, why are you so sad?" Hope asked as she walked up to her biggest hero. He always made her feel better when she was sad. She wrapped her short arms as far around his frame as she could. He picked her up and cuddled her close. Hope snuggles were just the medicine he needed. Silently, he carried her to the couch and sat down with her in his lap.

"Sometimes grown-ups are sad or frustrated. I'll be fine. I promise, sweetie. Especially now that I have your snuggles," he squeezed her lightly to his chest. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. "Can you go play with Will and Ryker while I talk to Mommy?"

"Sure, Daddy," she said, as she placed a few kisses on his face. "Love you."

"Love you too. A whole lot, always and forever," he promised. He watched as she dashed off to Will's bedroom.

"So, what's up?" Danni asked, sitting next to him on the couch.

"I don't even know where to start," but he did and explained all that had happened and Bella's pregnancy.

Danni sat a little shell shocked next to Jacob. She wasn't expecting all of that so fast, but after staying with Paul and Rachel for a week, she'd had an education on imprinted wolves. She had overheard the two going at it every single night. It was kind of disgusting to hear Rachel screaming in ecstasy. She hadn't said anything to her friend because she didn't want to embarrass her.

"Well, you put on your big boy panties Jacob and man up. You do whatever you have to do to fix it. You can't come running to me every time you and Bella have a fight. I'm not going to get in the middle of your relationship. Yes, I'm here for you. I'll listen to you, but you're going to have to figure out how to fix this on your own. I'd recommend starting with a lot of groveling."

She stood up and wished him luck, telling him to get his ass moving there was no time to waste.


	21. Let's Talk, ok?

Chapter 21

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**_Thanks so much for reading. Lots of readers all riled up out there. Which is good because you should be. This is messy. The thing about Jake is he loves completely. A guest reader said he didn't have integrity in this story and I disagree. Yet, in the end, it's fiction, so what can I say? This would never happen in RL._**

**_As far as Embry goes, he has not imprinted on Danni. He's the only one of the original pack members that hasn't imprinted, so maybe he hasn't accepted it as the others have. Things are always easier when it isn't you._**

**_I was hoping to portray this as the struggle I thought it would have been. If it were easy peasy this would be a one or two shot._**

**_Enough of my babbling…on with the story. Not as long as the past few, but I felt like this was the best place to stop._**

Billy rolled into the living room and asked to be alone with Jacob. Danni stepped out of the room to let them have a chance to talk. Billy had a long discussion with Jacob about imprinting and his role as alpha and future chief. He reiterated how proud he was of him for handling an undeniably difficult situation the best that he knew how. Billy admitted that he wasn't sure anyone else would have handled it as well as Jacob had.

According to the old journals, there was no way a wolf could resist the imprint pull. Billy believed had Jacob tried to ignore it, the consequences would have been disastrous. When Billy was done, he handed Jacob a small beaded bag and told him he thought Jacob should have what was inside. Jacob peeked into the bag and was surprised at what was inside.

"Are you sure, Dad?" he asked.

"Very sure," he affirmed.

After Danni physically shoved Jacob out the door, he started walking down the dirt road toward home. A rumbling car engine was coming down the road and he glanced over his shoulder to see Embry driving his old VW Golf. The car slowed and Embry cranked the window down. Jacob leaned in the window, his head held down, feeling pretty crappy all around.

"Get in," Embry sighed. "I'm sorry for freaking out. It's just Danni and I have been talking a lot lately since I've been staying with her, you know? She's holding up in front of you but she's torn up."

Jacob sighed. He had a feeling, and in a way he'd have been surprised if it were any other way. Not that he wished it on her, it was the reality of the current situation.

"I'm sorry if you thought I was being insensitive."

"I know, Jake. We're good. I can't imagine being in your place, having to choose. I hope I never imprint. Ever."

"I know what you mean. I don't regret meeting Bella. I love her, I truly do. But I can say in some ways I wish it happened before I got married and had children. Of course, having Hope and Ryker, I wouldn't trade them for anything. I hate that we've all had to go through this."

Embry kept driving but didn't tell Jacob where he was taking him. He knew that Jacob and Bella needed to talk. Having been best friends with Jacob all of his life, Embry was well aware of Jacob's stubborn tendencies. He'd put off making up with Bella. So he was going to make it easy on his friend.

Jacob looked up and saw where they were headed. Instead of arguing with his friend anymore, he sat quietly and appreciated the effort. When he hopped out of the passenger seat, he rolled the window up and thanked him. He didn't say for what, but Embry knew he meant for being a supportive friend.

Bella's jeep was parked in the driveway and Charlie's cruiser was gone, Jacob noted thankfully. He didn't think Charlie would shoot him anywhere, but it wasn't a theory he wanted to test. Before he made it to the front door, a low yip was heard from the trees. Jacob peered around the side of the white house to see Jared.

"Don't leave yet."

Double yip.

Jacob stood in front of the door, unsure of what he was going to say when he talked to Bella. This was all so new to him and while he had gotten to know her over the last months, this was their first big fight. He could hear the deadbolt unlatching and he realized his time to think things over had ended.

"You know I can hear your loud thoughts all the way upstairs. When were you going to knock or ring the bell?" she asked jokingly. She gave him a tentative smile.

"Can we go to the cliffs and talk?" he decided at that moment. Bella nodded.

"It might be cold, so go grab a jacket."

Bella returned with her jacket and keys. Jacob held his hand out in a silent request to drive and Bella relinquished her keys to him. She didn't know the way to the cliffs that well so it was better that he drove.

Neither of them spoke on the drive and when Jacob parked, he jogged around to Bella's side to help her out. He didn't release her hand as he helped her walk up the path. Once they reached the top, he found a flat area for them to sit. He remembered how nervous Bella was close to the edge, so he tried to stay further back from it.

She sat on the ground and looked up to him, waiting for him to speak. After pacing around a little bit, he finally sat directly opposite Bella with his legs folded in an identical manner. He cupped his hands over her kneecaps.

"Bells, thanks for coming out here with me." He let out a deep breath. "I need to explain what you heard the other night. I'm sure you did not hear everything I said or we wouldn't be here fighting. I was blindsided by the imprint. We both were. It wasn't something I believed was going to happen-ever. I thought this part of me was over and done with. It was unexpected. Danni and I were going along in life. We're great friends and good parents to our children. It rocked everybody's lives when it ended the way it did. But do I regret it? No, I don't. I don't want to dismiss what Danni and I had because it was great. I'm sure I would have been happy my whole life. But since I've met you, I feel so different. In a good way. I'm more confident and sure of myself. I feel at peace with who I am. I'm a better alpha and the pack works together amazingly well."

"But more than that. I love you. I love how you are with my kids and that you've tried to find your place in their lives. I love how you've worked at being friends with Danni. How many times does that happen?" he scoffed.

"I love how accepting you are of people, which makes me wonder why you hate Mike Newton so much," he laughed remembering Bella's aversion to his physical therapist. She grinned the slightest bit at his joke, but she still hadn't looked up at him.

He reached out and brushed his fingers over her soft skin. "I love you, honey. I am excited that we're having a baby. I am sorry for sounding like such a jackass with Embry. He took me off-guard. I thought he'd be the most supportive. I talked to him tonight and he is."

Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny beaded bag. He shook its contents into his hand and held it out to her.

"Please marry me," he asked again, waiting for her to pick up the ring.

"Jacob this is beautiful," she gasped.

"It was my mother's. My dad gave it to me, said he wanted you to have it. You're a part of my family now. It might be unconventional, but that's what it is. So, will you marry me?" he smiled at her.

She sniffled back tears and nodded her head. He gently wiggled the ring on her finger, surprised that his mother's ring fit Bella so well. Then he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She turned her face into his and kissed him on the mouth, enjoying the warm fullness of his lips.

Jacob pulled Bella back with him. She was straddling his chest and then laid on top of him, her ear over his heart. They didn't say anything for a while, simply enjoying the feel of the other, the sounds of the ocean and the night. Bella shifted off Jacob's chest, so that she was lying beside him, her head resting in his armpit. He wrapped his arm around her to pull her close to his body.

Her fingers reached out and traced over his chest. She noticed he was only wearing shorts and when she asked where his clothes were, he responded with one word: shredded. She kissed his chest where she could reach and gathered her thoughts.

"I'm sorry too, for running away without hearing you out. I already feel so guilty about coming into your life and turning it upside down. Not only do I tear your marriage apart, but I've brought vampires on my heels. Me being here made all of you guys phase again. I keep thinking about all of the "what ifs." What if I had never met the Cullens? What if I had stayed away from them like I should have? What if I never had the accident or if I never came back to Charlie's? Even, what if I chose a different physical therapy center?"

Jacob turned and looked at her. She was staring at his chest, her thoughts somewhere else. He kissed the top of her head. He had thought about a lot of his own what ifs, but in the end they couldn't change what had happened.

"You know, that's why those things are "what ifs," and we'll never know. We have to go forward from here without looking back anymore. We are who we are. We're in a committed relationship, bonded together for the rest of our lives, getting ready to have a baby," he said, patting her side with his hand.

"I told you the night that Cullen took you that I was sure that day I loved you. Maybe I haven't done a good enough job showing you that. I'm sorry, I'll work on it," he whispered. He pulled her body up toward him so he could kiss her. She kissed him back and before long they were making out like teenagers.

They both lost themselves to their feelings of love and peace the other provided. At the top of the cliff, they promised their love to each other in more ways than one. Bella sat astride Jacob her head leaned back, his hands guiding her.

Yet, in the treetops far enough way to stay undetected, watched a furious Edward. He was disgusted that she would allow him to do such things outside where anyone could stumble across them. His Bella wasn't such a shameless harlot like this woman he was watching now. He took off into the night unable to watch anymore, wishing he had been able to take her from her bedroom when she was there. But that damn wolf wouldn't stop pacing in the 100 yard stretch behind her house.

Bella and Jacob walked back down the path, hand in hand. When they reached her jeep, he unlocked it but didn't open the door right away. He continued to kiss her passionately, then continue to cover her face, neck, and shoulders. She relaxed and moved her head to give him better access.

"I love you," he stated firmly and helped her into the jeep, giving her one last kiss before slamming the door and running around to the driver's side. After he started the engine, he grabbed her hand. His fingers lightly played with the new engagement ring. His life wasn't conventional, but he was happy.


	22. A Little Bit of Crazy

Chapter 22

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is for my fellow Jacob lover-Tonyamic10. She wanted a little Edward unhinged. It was about time. I'd also like to thank plainjanedee. She was a great help when the ideas got stuck and wouldn't come out.**

Been too long since we've heard from Edward, you know?

Edward had never been more enraged in his entire life than he was after seeing Bella astride Jacob's body on the top of the cliffs. It was disgusting and yet he found himself riveted to the scene wishing it had been him to bring her to such heights.

He took his fury out on several unsuspecting women walking home from a nightclub in Seattle. He drained their bodies dry and then ran to Denali. When he got there, he found Tanya and used her body, pretending she was Bella in his mind. Afterward, when she tried to cuddle up to his side, he threatened to kill her if she touched him again. She stood gaping at him as he dressed and left. She hadn't taken the time to take in his features when he first arrived. Having wanted him for years, she didn't hesitate when he came on to her suddenly.

"Your eyes, Edward? You've slipped from your diet?" she asked, softly.

He stared at her, piercing her golden eyes with his eyes bright like fire. "Oh, save it, Tanya, don't act like you've never slipped," he scoffed.

She hung her head in shame, recalling the time her thirst hadn't gotten the better of her after the Volturi had killed her mother. She hadn't meant to go so long without feeding, she was grieving.

"You know that was an accident. You're angry, what happened?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm leaving."

"Wait, Edward, you just got here."

"So?"

"You don't want to stay for a while, make love again?"

"We did not make love. I don't love you. This was a fuck to satisfy both our needs. You know you wanted it."

Tanya stood stammering, unable to think of anything to say as Edward took off in a blur. She shook her head as she walked out of her bedroom. Then she turned back and ripped the sheets from her bed. She threw the shreds in the garbage can outside before replacing them with new ones from the linen closet.

Edward ran back to Vancouver to catch a plane to New York. He had business to conduct there. Things were getting off track since Victoria. She had really fucked shit up for him. He was tired of his perfectionist act with everyone, attending high school and college with Bella. He finally got her to New York, but he wasn't ready to give her up yet. The first human he'd ever been near whose thoughts were silent. Then, she was accepting of his nature, not questioning him at all. It was a respite from the constant thoughts of other women. Their thoughts were repulsing, the things they were willing to do for him for sex.

Had he used those human women, his employer surely would have had him killed. It was his job to find young women who would not be missed to send to Italy. There could not be any evidence to connect the missing women. In exchange for his services, Aro let Edward live his life the way he wanted. The moment the gig was up, Edward was dead.

Edward had been careful to keep Aro from touching him since he met Bella. He knew without a doubt the other man would insist on her being changed and added to his collection in Volterra. The man was a hoarder of sorts, but with people. He was sure that Aro had a mountain of skeletons in his closet, both figuratively and literally. Edward wanted her to be his mate and he knew she would be perfect-her mind silenced to him for all time. He knew that Alice was no longer able to see her and he hoped that once changed she would be able to hide them from Volturi trackers.

After returning to his apartment from the airport, he showered and put on his suit. He flipped in the green contacts he wore for these occasions and checked his appearance before leaving. The number of women that they wanted was increasing each time and he was having difficulty finding more and more women that would not be missed. He'd rented a storage unit on the shady side of town and kept them locked in cages until his shipment was ready.

He went to different bars and clubs each time so that no one would begin to recognize him. He'd order a different drink and sit in various places, listening to the thoughts of those in the room. Typically, he'd find a girl who was alone hoping to meet up with someone while they were there. Then he would smile at them and ask them to dance or if he could buy them a drink. He would lie about who he was and what he did. The women would always go with him, the advantage of knowing their thoughts, knowing exactly what they were wishing for. Any woman who was resistant or thinking about who would notice them missing were left alone.

Tonight he was at a dumpy bar, pretending to drink a jack and coke. He listened out into the room. There was a lot of people that were there together from work celebrating someone's birthday-none of them would work.

"You planning on drinking that drink?" the bartender smiled at him. She was an older woman, who looked like she'd spent the majority of her life in the sun. Her skin was wrinkled and blemishes covered her skin.

"Just waiting on someone," he smiled at her, attempting to dazzle her with his beauty. She walked away, her thoughts annoying to Edward. She was thinking he was in the wrong place in his designer suit, the snooty bars were a block over.

"Have a good night," he called out, tossing the contents of the glass into his mouth in her line of sight. Then he walked out on the sidewalk and sprayed the contents on the ground. He wiped his lips and started the walk back to his apartment, more frustrated than before.

As Edward raced along the sidewalk, he heard the thoughts of his next victim. She had just been assaulted in the alley he was coming up on and was curled into a ball crying. The man who hurt her was zipping his pants as Edward rounded the corner. He sneered at the man causing him to run away from the area.

"Hi, are you okay? Can I help you?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "Can I call the police for you, a friend or a family?"

Her thoughts were jumbled, scared of a new man coming upon her, scared that no one would notice if she went missing. She couldn't believe she had come to New York alone to try and be a model. She was such an idiot. The man she had met claimed to be an agent.

"How about I leave you here and go get some help?" he offered.

"No, no. Please don't leave me here alone, he might come back," she cried.

"I'm going to help you stand up now, okay?" He carefully placed his icy hands under the sleeves of her shirt so he wouldn't touch her skin. He helped her to her feet and then stepped back. Her eyes traveled over his body and she decided an attacker wouldn't be dressed so nicely. Edward was pleased that she was already trusting him.

"My sister, Alice and I have an apartment just around the corner. I could call her and see if it's okay if I bring you there. She can help you get cleaned up and maybe you could borrow her clothes?" He waited until she nodded. Then he turned and pretended to call Alice.

"She says it's fine and she'll take you to the hospital if you want."

"Okay," the woman whimpered.

"My name is Anthony Masen," he lied to her. "What's your name?"

"Hi, I'm Brianna," she said, trying to stifle her tears as she slowly stepped forward.

"Let me help you," Edward said, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked her forward.

When they got closer to his apartment, he took his phone out of his pocket for a brief call.

"Alice ran down to get some first aid supplies. She'll be right back up."

Inside, he helped her to sit on the couch and gave her a blanket to cover her body. He went into the kitchen and made her a mug of tea.

"Brianna, I made you some tea. Alice says it always makes her feel better," he smiled crookedly, dazzling the other woman. She took the warm mug and sipped gratefully, allowing it to soothe her sore throat. Edward encouraged her to finish it saying it would help her throat recover from the screaming.

When the cup was empty, he took it from her and said he was going to go in the kitchen to call Alice to see what was taking so long. He stood in the kitchen and counted to 60 before returning to the living room.

"Finally, I didn't think you were ever going to drink it all," he sneered at her limp form. He wrapped her body in the blanket and carried her out onto the fire escape. He put her body in the last empty cage. He stepped out into the night to call Aro and let him know their next order was ready.

"Edward, how are you?" he asked in his fake voice. "I'm so happy you called. When will you be traveling to Italy?"

"Oh, Aro, with all the work you have me doing, I don't think I can make it any time soon," he chuckled, attempting to amuse the other man.

"Well, you have been choosing the best of the best, Edward. We really appreciate what you're doing for us. Just remember, if anybody starts sniffing around…"

"I know," Edward cut him off.

Edward ended the call and stepped back into the storage unit. He needed to make sure all of the women were alive and well. If one of them arrived dead, he would be starting back at square one. He checked them and they all seemed to be hungry. So he went out and ordered 20 five star dinners to go and brought them back. He gave them all bottles of soda or juice and left them with extra bottles of water to drink. They were starving and most hadn't had such a glorious meal in their lives ever before, so they ate quickly.

He walked out of the unit and locked each of the locks back to secure the unit.

"Gross," he muttered thinking about them eating like farm animals, and smelling like them too. Never mind the fact he hadn't fed them in 4 days. He'd had to go back to Washington to check on Bella. He hoped this was the last shipment he would have to do before he and Bella were able to disappear for good.

Edward saw a large native looking man walking ahead of him. He crept up behind him and envisioned that it was that bastard, Jacob Black. He pulled the man into the shadows and snapped his neck. It didn't matter that it wasn't Jacob Black or even a Quileute.

The next night, after Edward watched the red container loaded on the ship, he left the port and bought a ticket for the next flight to Seattle. He hoped they all survived the trip because he didn't want to do this again. He was tired of having Aro holding shit over his head. Pasty old fucker.

It was time for him to go get his Bella. She would no longer have to tolerate that overgrown fleabag anymore. He would enjoy killing that bastard with his bare hands, listening to him beg for his pathetic life. Edward would enjoy listening to him beg, knowing that he'd die a slow and painful death.

It turned out the night Edward returned to Forks was the night of Bella's 30th birthday celebration. Security around the reservation was tighter than ever, and Edward noticed there were a bunch of new wolves. Somehow he was unable to read their thoughts. Had that juvenile alpha figured out how to block him out? He only knew they were coming when he could hear their heartbeats or paws scratching the earth and brush.

He climbed that same treetop again and watched with his keen eyesight the celebration on the beach. There were at least 20 people around the campfire having a good time eating and laughing. His Bella sat with that mongrel's arm wrapped tightly around her. Patient as ever, he sat watching, hoping for the opportunity to get to her.

At one point, she stood from her chair and stretched. She jerked and held her hand over her lower belly, caressing it and laughing. The mutt came over and she placed his hand where she'd just had hers. Then he placed his disgusting lips on hers while the others around hooted and hollered.

Unexpectedly, a loud howl sounded from below him. Damn, his location was revealed. He fled at top speed.

The next evening when he had returned to the area where he was able to hide and have a perfect view of the beach and cliffs, he found that the trees had been chopped down. They were huge trees as well.

Edward's eyes caught a paper blowing. When he walked up, he saw a note had been nailed to the tree.

It said, "You're dead, mother fucker."

Edward snatched it off the tree and ripped it into confetti before running back to the old Cullen house. He yanked his phone out of his pocket.

"What Alice?" he snapped.

"Your shipment is not going to survive. They're going to demand replacement and more, as well as a trip to Volterra. You need to leave Washington right now," she commanded him.

"Damn it!" he yelled, breaking another phone in his hand.

He tried to get one last glimpse of Bella before leaving again for New York, but the damn wolves were everywhere and he couldn't.

The flight attendant on his chartered flight smiled appreciatively when he stepped aboard the plane. She wondered how he'd feel about joining the Mile High Club with her, as she offered him refreshments before takeoff. He ignored her and sat back with his eyes closed. He was envisioning how he would pluck the wolves off one by one. Then he imagined strapping Jacob Black down and forcing him to sit by and watch her transformation. He laughed when he imagined her sucking him dry when she woke up.

He couldn't sleep but he enjoyed his thoughts the rest of the flight back to New York. The flight attendant would be number one on his list.


	23. Bella's Birthday Bonfire

Chapter 23

_Rated M._

_Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer-obviously because I'd never make Jake 2__nd__ best. Wink_

_Seems like there are some Edward-haters out there that enjoyed that last chapter.  
Thanks for reading! I've been getting more followers and I love it. Sorry for the lack of updates, RL has been crazy as all get out. To make matters worse, we have the indestructible flea infestation, so I'm having terrible sleep feeling like fleas are on me. (Sometimes they are-UGH! Gross.)_

_On with the story…_

"I don't want a party, Jacob," Bella stated firmly. "I don't do birthday parties. Please don't make me do this. I hate being the center of attention and given lavish gifts. I feel so inadequate."

"Honey, we always have a bonfire for birthdays. It's tradition. Don't worry about gifts because the only thing people bring is food. I'll even let you bake some delicious cake if you insist. Don't let everybody down. I'll sit by you the whole time, I promise," he begged softly, kissing her belly.

It was Friday morning and Jacob told Bella about the bonfire/party they were having for her that night. He hadn't told her about it sooner because things had been hectic with new wolves and tight security patrols. He was starting to feel like they were on borrowed time with Edward and possibly other vampires. Now that she was pregnant and her belly was starting to pooch out a bit, he was more protective than ever.

She wavered a little, so he continued to warm her stomach with his soft lips. She moaned and he added in a light bite every few kisses, widening his path away from her lower stomach.

"Please, honey? For me?" he pleaded, moving up higher on her chest, right between and then over her breasts. They'd both discovered how erotic this area felt to her after they made up. After their clifftop love-making session, neither could be sated.

Bella never gave him a direct answer. However, she became involved in the passionate morning escapade. She lay smiling at the ceiling when they were done, feeling blissful. Jacob had taught her a lot and he was magnificent at finding every place that made her moan.

The pack had grown used to Jacob showing up to patrol reeking of sex and Bella. They were glad for their brother's happiness, but they all wished he would shower before he ran with them. Jacob knew what they were thinking, but the wolf really didn't care. That part of him loved warding other males off their mate, even if those males wouldn't dare look at her that way.

"Be ready to go by 5:00, okay?" Jacob told her, grinning as he walked out of the bedroom. He wasn't going to wait around to hear her complain about it. The pack bonfires were a great time for everyone and they needed a reason to party, truthfully. A resounding groan could be heard before he shut the front door, laughing.

Bella rolled out of the bed and went into the bathroom. As became a part of her morning routine, she stood in front of the mirror analyzing her stomach. She ran her hand over her little bump that had popped out in the last week. At her last appointment, she reiterated her worry to the doctor and he promised it wouldn't be long that she would be feeling movement and showing. While her stomach had finally popped, she still hadn't felt anything.

"Baby? How are you doing in there?" she cooed, as she rubbed the spot. No response. Of course, she sighed.

Then she hopped in the shower and went into the kitchen to think about what she should make for the bonfire. It helped to think of it as just a bonfire, not her birthday party. It brought memories of Alice's overdone celebrations where she was compelled to overeat cake since she was the only one that ate. She shook it off and set about looking around the kitchen.

Thinking about how much the pack preferred to eat and that there were so many of them now, she decided to make something that was pretty easy. She went for dump cakes. They were simple and the ingredients she needed were in the pantry. After she finished baking, she left them to cool on the counter.

The sound of Hawaii Five-O soundtrack rang out and Bella went in search of her phone.

"Hey, Dad," she smiled answering.

"Happy birthday to you," he squawked out. Bella held the phone away from her ear and laughed as he finished his off-key rendition of the song. "Happy birthday, Bells!"

"Thanks, Dad! Are you coming tonight?"

"I wouldn't miss your birthday party! Of course I'll be there."

Bella groaned. "It's a bonfire, not my birthday party. I'm too old for birthdays."

"Too old?" he laughed. "You're never too old for birthdays! I've got some gifts for you and everything!"

"I'll see you tonight, Dad."

"Can't wait. Love you," he said, before clicking the phone off.

Jacob got home from work at 4:00 to make sure he had enough time to convince Bella to go to the bonfire. He found her asleep on the couch with a book in her lap. Carefully, he grabbed the book and placed it upside down on the coffee table so he wouldn't lose the page. Unfortunately, he had learned the hard way from his sisters that that would cause screaming and yelling at him.

He debated whether he should wake her or let her sleep, but he decided to let her rest and to get himself ready first. His clothes dropped on the bathroom floor and he stepped into the shower. The minute he closed his eyes to wash his hair, a hand grasped him. There.

"What did I tell you about leaving your clothes in the middle of the floor?" she whispered, squeezing her fingers the slightest bit.

"Um," he squeaked. Then he reached out and grabbed her body, pulling her close into the spray of the water.

"Ahh! Jake!"

"I'm sorry. You were sleeping. I thought I'd have them picked up before you woke up."

He rinsed his hair and opened his eyes. Then he leaned down to give her a hello kiss. She returned his peck with a welcome home kiss that involved her tongue swirling around his. She'd learned he liked it when she sucked on his tongue a little so when he pushed into her mouth, she did that for him. It caused him to be rock hard. Instantly.

"Let me finish washing up and then let's take this to bed. I don't want you to slip in the shower," he told her.

"I'm not a fragile flower, you know."

"Oh, I know. But, you are a klutz and could slip at any moment on sandpaper," he joked.

She decided that instead of responding with words, she'd get him back another way. She grabbed the bar of soap and soaped up her hands. She lathered them up and started rubbing all around his groin. Up and down each thick muscular thigh, just below his butt cheek. Then she repeated it on the other leg. She cleaned each firm cheek, rubbing her chest against his stomach.

Then she smiled, kissed his chest, and rinsed her hands.

"I don't have time to play around. I have to get ready to go to a bonfire," she announced leaving the shower.

Jacob groaned in frustration, looking down at his unattended hard-on.

"Don't even think about it!" she called as she left the bathroom.

Finally, Bella and Jacob showed up to the bonfire, only half an hour late. The wolves that were off patrol were already there with their imprints or alone. They cheered and jeered the pair as they walked up. The wolves could scent the fresh smell of sex on both of them again.

"God dang, I am going to be embarrassed walking around with a boner again!" Colin complained. The pack laughed, while the others stared at him in disbelief.

When Bella looked at Charlie, she saw he had turned a dark shade of red. She could understand how he was feeling. He and Billy had become friends and Billy was cajoling Charlie into being excited about his future grandchild. Charlie was coming around. He was starting to think if circumstances were different, he might have liked Jacob a lot.

Hope and Ryker ran up to them a few minutes later.

"Daddy!" they called as they jogged over the sand to him. He squatted down to catch them in his arms and gave them a hug. "We miss you!"

"I've missed you guys too. I've been really busy with work, too. But I'm not working as much this week when you stay at my house."

"Do you mean your and Bella's house?" Hope asked in her sweet girl voice. "Ry said that we were going to get an evil stepmother when you guys get married. Miss Bella, will you turn evil when you marry Daddy?"

Bella froze. It was Jacob that handled the situation in a calm, firm manner like always.

"Do you think Bella is evil, Hope?"

"No. I think she's pretty nice."

"Ryker, do you think Bella is evil?" Ryker blushed a bright red that might have gone unnoticed in the dark by someone else.

"Why did you say that then?" Jacob prodded gently.

"Because Tommy said that when his mom got remarried, his stepdad was real nice until after the wedding. Then he started being mean and hitting him and his mom."

Jacob filed that tidbit away for later thought and spoke honestly with his son.

"Bella and I will be getting married soon. She won't turn into an evil stepmom. You'll still have me, and Mommy is going to come by the house when you're there. You'll see, we'll all be okay," Jacob grabbed Ryker and tugged the boy into another hug.

"I wish you and Mommy were still married and you never met Bella," he cried and spun out of his father's arms running away. He watched as Danni followed him, waving him off. As Jacob stepped off to follow them, his attention was grabbed by his pack.

"Jake! What's going on? Bella! Happy Birthday!" Quil drawled as he walked up, Claire in tow. Their hands were loosely clasped together and she laughed lightly looking at them.

"Congratulations, you guys! We're so excited for you," Claire said. "I keep trying to talk Quil into having a baby, but he says he needs to grow up first. So we might never have kids."

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Quil scoffed, then grinned.

"Thanks. We're really excited," Bella said.

Jacob pulled Bella over to a driftwood log and they sat down, letting people come to them to say hello. He thought it helped Bella with her shyness around the group of otherwise gregarious people.

Everyone brought dishes to share and Bella ate a little of everything-even if it was only a teaspoonful. Charlie commented to Billy on how much those big guys ate and how did they afford to feed them all? Billy laughed and said it wasn't his responsibility anymore, but he nearly went broke when Jacob lived at home.

The conversation remained lighthearted and those that weren't "in the know" didn't seem to notice when the wolves that were on patrol switched out with the new patrol. The laughter could be heard all around as they enjoyed the bonfire.

When they'd finished eating, Danni and the kids came to give them both hugs and kisses before heading home to bed. Rachel and Paul were going to have a "sleepover" at Danni's house with Will, so that Paul would be there on guard. Bella hugged them all, only a tad awkward, and thanked them for coming.

The pack wished Bella a happy birthday and the only gifts she received were from her dad. She tried to wait to open them, but he insisted that she open them right then. She turned a dark crimson when she opened a keychain with pepper spray attached and Charlie pointed at Jacob, raising his eyebrows. She also opened a couple of maternity t-shirts, which were perfectly suited for her and a maternity sweater. Last, she opened a stun gun. She looked at Charlie gaping, who she saw wink at Jacob. The rest of the guys laughed at Charlie's way of handling Bella's pregnancy.

Things started to wind down and Bella stood up. She stretched her arms over her head and told Jacob she was ready to go. Then she squealed and put her hands down on her belly. Jacob jumped to her side thinking something was wrong with the baby. Then he saw her bright smile.

"I felt the baby nudge me! I can't believe it!" she caressed herself again.

Jacob smiled and held his hand across her belly. He looked into her eyes and leaned down to kiss her. The group cheered in celebration at their alpha pair.

They all whipped toward the cliffs when a loud howl sounded off.

"Time to go!" Sam said. "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, me too," Emily agreed, helping Sam gather their things, so Sam could go on ahead. They both knew it wouldn't be as easy for Jacob and Bella to escape with Charlie there.

All of the single wolves discreetly took off. It was a howl of alarm and they couldn't leave the skeleton crew patrolling. The imprints and wives started helping gather up the food, signaling the end of the bonfire. People grabbed their dishes and headed toward their cars.

Bella and Jacob were standing near Billy and Charlie, thanking them for coming. Charlie kept asking Bella what the rush was, it was her birthday.

"Dad, I'm tired is all. The baby is sucking up my energy," she explained.

"Maybe you shouldn't do so much. You should stop working," he scolded her.

"Seriously, Dad! I talked to the doctor and he said it's completely fine to keep working. Lots of women work when they're pregnant," she told him, rolling her eyes.

"I don't want you overdoing it is all, you're my little girl. I want to make sure you're taken care of is all."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm a big girl now. I've been out of diapers for quite a while now, and I even lived on my own, in case you've forgotten." She reached out and hugged him and told him softly, "I love you and thanks for caring about me." He squeezed her back before stepping away.

"We'll see you guys soon," Jacob said, hugging his dad and reaching out to shake Charlie's hand. He shook his hand quickly and let go.

"Charlie, why don't you come back to my house and we can catch up on the news and have a beer?" Billy suggested.

"Sounds great. Let's go," Charlie said, leaving without looking back.

"I didn't think he was going to let us leave," Jacob whispered to Bella. "As soon as we get home, I've got to go. I'm sorry to run out on your birthday."

"It's fine. Don't worry. I told you I don't want you to do anything for my birthday," she said, following after his much larger stride.

He had the truck door open for her and helped her get inside, then he leaned over and kissed her quick and sweet. "I didn't forget to get you a gift, but it'll have to wait now. And, I will always do something to celebrate your birthday." Then he shut the door on her protest, jogging around to the driver's side.

They rushed home and it was Seth that was waiting at the house for them. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Jacob said he loved her and bye. He was gone before Bella made it to the front door.

"What took you guys so long?" Seth asked.

"Charlie. He wouldn't stop talking," Bella told him.

The two headed in the house and settled on the couch for a marathon of Top Chef. Both were addicted to it and had fun talking about the odd things people made.

Meanwhile, Jacob ran swiftly through the woods. He scanned the thoughts of his pack and had ascertained that Edward Cullen had been caught within their boundaries again. It seemed he was using the trees to his advantage. Jacob was furious. That bloodsucker had crossed too many boundaries and he only hoped to rip him to shreds. It pushed his wolf faster.

When he reached the area Cullen had been found, he lost it. He phased back to human form, and punched the tree.

"Fucking bastard!" he screamed into the night. He turned around to see several wolves shuffling behind him, unsure what to do with his fury. No one had ever seen Jacob that mad. Ever.

"Everyone find every saw they own. These trees are coming down tonight. He will not come back to this spot ever again and spy on us."

It was Sam that phased back to talk to him.

"Jake, man, I agree with you, he's off his rocker. But cutting down these trees? They're really old. It doesn't seem right. Maybe you should wait until you calm down to make a decision like that." Sam backed up when he saw how pissed Jacob remained.

"That rotten piece of shit will not spy on us from his perch ever again. **Cut. Them. Down.** We are going to send him a message."

Everyone turned and ran, having been commanded by their alpha. It wasn't long that the strong men had chopped down the beautiful trees. They stood around them, looking sad at destroying a beautiful part of the forest for a not-so-great reason.

Jacob stormed up from behind them, a paper flapping in one hand, nails and hammer in the other. He pounded the nails into the tree and stomped back.

"I'd say that's sending a message," Embry muttered, walking away shaking his head. Jacob had been his best friend his whole life. He didn't really agree with Jacob's decision, but he understood the man was frustrated with having a lunatic vampire chasing after his fiancée and ex-wife, that he still cared for deeply.

They all phased back, somber. No one knew what was coming, but listening to the thoughts of so many wolves phased together, they realized it was something big.


	24. Gifts

Chapter 24

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Thought I'd lost my mojo on this one, but plot lines kept talking to me. Hope you enjoy.

Rushing through the trees and around the perimeter, the pack was focused together for once. No one's stray thoughts floated through the night and everyone was searching for one thing. The scent of vampire. They weren't all together. They were running in pairs but spaced out like the spokes of a ferris wheel. The only two missing wolves were with Bella and Danni and the kids. Seth was with Bella and surprisingly one of the new wolves was with Danni. Jacob had a singular focus at that time and it was to kill. He wouldn't let anyone have a stray thought.

After several hours of this, dawn began to break over the horizon. He knew everyone was exhausted from the night. A quick survey let him know that Leah and Jared felt the best and he asked them to run for 3 more hours. Embry and Sam would sleep and relieve them then. As soon as Jacob hit the tree line in his backyard, he phased back and ran toward the house.

In the living room, he saw Seth and Bella asleep on the couch. The television was still on replaying some kitchen show Bella loved to watch. As Jacob stepped neared the couch, Seth opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Hey, man," Jacob greeted him. "I've got it. Get some rest, so you'll be ready to patrol at noon with Quil." Seth stood and nodded his understanding, walking out the front door.

Jacob smiled at Bella's resting form. She was beautiful and the way her hair was all tangled up around her face, made him want to gently brush it away for her. Instead, he bent and hoisted her body into his arms. He placed light kisses everywhere he could reach.

"Mmm, Seth, that feels good," Bella whimpered, but her lip cracked just enough of a smile that Jacob knew she was teasing him. He decided to continue what he was doing, making each kiss last a few seconds longer. Her heart beat picked up, so it was quite clear she was awake.

"Want to go to bed with me?" he whispered in her ear, trying to imitate Seth's voice. She shivered.

"Of course, I do, lover."

"Then you'd better never call me Seth again," he breathed into her ear. She burst into giggles at her joke, knowing she hadn't fooled him for a second.

"How'd you know?" she laughed.

"I'll never tell," he smiled. "Sorry your birthday got ruined."

"You didn't ruin my birthday, so stop saying that! I don't want a big deal made about it. I promise."

"Can I give you my gifts now?"

"I guess," she pouted. He placed her on the bed and looked at her pout face. It was funny, so he laughed. She continued to pout. So he bent down and placed a loving kiss on her lips. It soon turned heated and she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. When he leaned up, she finally got a good look at his body.

"Why are you filthy, Jacob? You look like you're covered in…in saw dust? Did you go to work and forget to clean up?" She sat up in the bed to look at him fully, a puzzled look on her face.

He looked away for a minute and decided her gifts were going to have to wait.

"I didn't go to work. We cut down some trees."

"You cut down trees. Why?"

"Because Edward was looking onto the reservation from them."

"So you cut down the whole forest?" Her question hanging in the air.

"Okay! I get it! I was rash. It was a hasty decision and there are a million other trees around here. But it was the trees that reeked of him. Trees that he must have been using for a while now. When the wolf smelled his…his…you know, I couldn't take it anymore. I ordered them to cut them down."

"Smelled his what?" she asked, not getting it.

"His spunk. In the tree. He must've taken care of some business up there."

"Ew. Jake. That's just…ew! Why do you think he did that?"

"I don't know for certain, but remember the night we made up on the cliffs? I kept getting this feeling of being watched. But we were on the rez, I was wrapped up in fixing things with you. It never occurred to me that he would have a perfect sight of that from the trees."

Bella gasped. She felt violated. Damn Edward. He had tainted an amazing night for her. Now when she recalled that night she would think about how he was there, watching them. That he was…she couldn't even think the words of what he was doing.

"I'm going to go clean up and then I'll bring your gifts in here. Okay?" Jacob asked her.

She nodded her head and laid back down on the bed.

The first gift Jacob had given Bella was a beautiful charm bracelet. It had silver links and several wooden charms hanging from it. Bella marveled at each one, surprised that he'd made them for her. She'd seen his crafting ability at work, but hadn't seen him do anything as tiny as these. The first was a wolf, baying into the air. It was intricate and beautiful. The second was a heart with JB &amp; BS inscribed in the center. Last was a baby rattle. Bella had given him a thank you kiss to remember and asked him to put it on her. He assured her that he'd sealed them so she could wear it whenever she wanted.

The second gift was a gift card for her ipad. It was something he thought she'd use so she could download any baby books she wanted, or music to listen to.

The last gift Jacob carried in from the garage. It had been under a sheet and was too large to be wrapped. He put it in the bedroom and helped Bella lift the sheet. It was a rocking chair. Bella held her hands in front of her mouth and blinked back the tears. It was such a work of art. She couldn't believe how talented Jacob was. He walked around and hugged her.

"Honey, don't cry. If you hate it, I'll make you something else."

"Jake, I don't hate it. I love it. It's perfect. I was picturing you sitting there holding the baby is all." She kissed him again and this time they let the kiss develop into something more. Jacob carried her back to their bed and he worked his frustrations out through her. It was almost lunchtime when they got out of bed to eat.

"I need to go over to Danni's and talk to the kids. I'm not happy about what Ryker said last night. One, it seemed like things were okay with him and now he's making comments like that. Two, I need to know more about Tommy's stepdad," Jacob said, as he crunched on some potato chips.

Bella cut the sub she was making for them into smaller pieces. She put ¼ of it on her plate and the rest on Jacob's. He thanked her as he grabbed the plates and put them on the other side of the breakfast bar.

"Do you want me to stay or go?" Bella asked, breaking a chip, avoiding Jacob's eye.

He turned to look at her and waited until she made eye contact. "I want you to go. The kids like you. I don't know that they are old enough to understand everything that's happened, but they do know whether or not they like someone. They've both told me and Danni they like you. You know that Danni and I talk. We want what's best for the kids and things to go smoothly for them."

"Okay. I'm sorry for standing there like a deer caught in the headlights last night," she apologized.

"Don't apologize. Ryker was in the wrong for what he said. But he's a kid, so he needs to be taught. I wanted to talk to him, but everybody pulled me away. It's not how I usually do things."

"I'll get a shower and get dressed," Bella said, dropping her paper plate into the trash and walking to the bedroom. Jacob watched her as she walked, enjoying the view of her backside as she swung it just a little extra for him knowing he was looking.

An hour later, Jacob and Bella walked up the sidewalk to Danni's house. Jacob texted Danni earlier, so she knew they were coming. Leah sauntered out of the house, glaring at Bella. Bella decided she was sick of the other woman's crap.

"What is your problem, Leah? I don't even know you and you are rude to me for no reason. I have no more control over imprinting than you do over shifting," Bella said, keeping her tone surprisingly calm.

"My problem, _Isabella_," she sneered, "is that you had a choice with imprinting. You chose to accept the imprint and ruin a family and a marriage. That is why I despise you and everything about you."

Jacob stepped up to the woman, furious with her and sick of her attitude.

"Your attitude is not acceptable. You will not treat anyone from this pack that way anymore. Imprints and children are included in the pack. Do I make myself clear, Lee Lee?" he snapped, using the nickname she now despised.

"Yes, Jacob," she bit out and left.

"Hey, guys. Sorry about that. She and I have been talking. She doesn't understand how I can be so understanding about all of this. It's hard for her. Unfortunately, I knew about all of this stuff before it happened," Danni said to them, as she stepped into the house, swinging the front door open. "I don't think it's an excuse for her to be so rude to everyone else. Trying to get her to be more respectful. Obviously it isn't working yet."

Jacob smiled as Hope came running to him. He grabbed her and swung her up in the air much to her delight.

"Daddy!" she squealed. "What are you doing here? We go to your house tomorrow, I thought. Mommy said tomorrow."

"Mommy told you right. I came to talk to Ryker and you. I missed you both. Where's Ry at?" he asked, giving her tickles and a kiss to her cheek.

"Ryker?" Jacob called out.

"In my room, Dad," he answered.

"Hope, we're going to talk to Ryker for a bit. Then we'll talk with you. Okay?" Jacob told her as he put her down.

Jacob walked into Ryker's room first. His son smiled as soon as he saw him, but his smile fell when his eyes landed on Bella.

"What's she doing here?" he muttered.

"Ryker, that's very mean. Why are you being that way all of the sudden?" Jacob asked gently. Bella followed him into the room and both adults sat on the floor. Bella gently slid some of Ryker's Legos over so she had room.

"Don't touch those! I had those arranged for my project!" Ryker shouted.

"I'm sorry!" Bella apologized, looking down at the mess.

"Ryker, that's not true!" Jacob scolded him. "You didn't have those arranged. You dumped the bucket right before we came in here."

Ryker crossed his arms and looked away. Bella bit back a smile. He looked exactly like she imagined Jacob would have at that age. He was being a stinker, but he was cute.

Jacob pulled Ryker onto his lap, giving him a hug that went unreturned.

"Talk to me, Ry," Jacob said softly, hugging his son and rocking him a bit in his lap, running his free hand up and down his shin.

"Ever since Miss Bella started staying at your house, Mommy's been crying a lot. I don't like it. I see that different people are staying in the guest room. Uncle Embry and Aunt Leah come over all of the time. Or sometimes we have to sleep at Uncle Paul's and Aunt Rachel's. I miss having you and Mommy together every day," he confessed, and tears started down his little face.

"What did you think would happen if you were so mean to Bella?" Jacob asked him.

"I hoped she would leave and that you would move back home," he whispered, feeling bad about his behavior.

"Oh, buddy. I wish you would have talked to me, or to Mommy. I'm sorry that you've had to deal with all of that. You're so smart. We forget how much you see going on," Jacob kissed his head and rubbed his arm. "Those people have all been coming here to help Mommy out. I have Bella at my house and Mommy needs an extra grown up sometimes."

Jacob realized there was so much his children couldn't know and that made it all harder to understand. He didn't want them to have to face the fear of the real world. Frankly, he wished he didn't know what evils the world really held.

"I want you to know, Ryker, Bella is going to stay. Daddy and Bella will be getting married. She's not going to leave because you want to be mean to her. But that's going to make it really hard for you guys to get along and do fun things together."

"Fun things, like what?"

"Well, didn't you go to the beach together this summer?"

"Yeah. We built sandcastles and went to the tide pools," Ryker said.

"I'm sure there will be more things for you guys to do. But, Bella might not want to do things with you if you're not going to be nice to her. She's important to me. I would like if you guys could get along."

Ryker pushed up out of his dad's lap and knelt down in front of Bella. She smiled a small smile at him. He sucked in a breath before he reached out and hugged her. Her eyes darted over to Jacob and she hugged him back.

"Thanks, Ryker," she said.

"I'm sorry, Bella, and you can call me Ry if you want," he told her.

"I promise I'm not going to turn into an evil stepmother, Ry. I love your dad very much. I love you and your sister too. I even love your mom. We're a family," Bella tried to reassure him. This wasn't really her area of expertise. Her parents had divorced, Charlie never dating, while Renee's string of boyfriends were paraded in front of her every weekend.

The trio went out into the living room, where they joined Danni and Hope. The family talked and worked things out, discussing the children's worries and fears. The kids were unaware of Danni's kidnapping, and that made it difficult to explain why she had been so upset lately. She took time to reassure the kids that she was happy for Daddy and Bella. They decided this was the best time to share that Bella was going to be having a baby in February. Hope was really excited and said she wanted a baby sister. Ryker didn't say much, but Jacob teased him and asked if he'd help change poopy diapers. Both kids made faces, much to the humor of the adults in the room.

"Can we put a crib in my room for the baby when we stay at Mommy's house?" Hope asked excitedly.

"Well, no, Hope," Jacob began. "Bella will be the baby's mommy. So the baby will always stay at my house."

"Why? We spend one week with you and one week with Mommy. The baby will be my brother or sister, right?" she asked, confused.

"You'll see how it works, Hope. Since Daddy and Bella will be married and living together, the baby will live with them, just like you did when mommy and daddy were married," Danni tried to explain to the young girl.

"Hmph. This stuff is confusing," Hope said, squishing her face up. "Can I go play now?"

"Of course, sweetie. Right after you give me a big hug and kiss. We're going to leave, but we'll be here for dinner tomorrow," Jacob said.

The kids waved from the front porch as Bella and Jacob drove away.

"Do you mind if we take a short drive?" Jacob asked. Bella told him she didn't and watched out the window as he drove through the reservation. She asked where they were when they pulled up in front of a little run down house.

"I'll explain in a minute," he ran up to the front door, but didn't knock. He just stood there. Bella wondered what he was doing. Finally the door opened and a large native man stood at the door. Bella's eyes widened when she realized he looked strikingly similar to the other wolves. He had long black hair, broad shoulders, and looked like he'd spent his life in the gym. She continued watching as Jacob stuck out his hand to the man and introduced himself. They chatted for a minute and then Jacob came back to the truck.

"Shit," he said as he got in. "Well, I think I know why Tommy's stepdad has been aggressive. It's not okay, but we're going to have to bring him in and tell him the legends. His name is John. I recognized him, but I don't know him that well."

"Do you think Tommy and his mom will be okay?" Bella worried, glancing back at the house.

"They aren't home right now. John said they went to her parents' house for a few days."

"Do you believe him?" she asked, thinking the worst.

Jacob's mouth open and closed a few times, but no words came out. He thought back over the conversation and tried to remember if there was anything to indicate a lie.

"Well, once he phases, I will know without a doubt," Jacob said, hoping the other man was telling the truth. He wasn't sure what he would do if they had a psychotic wolf on their hands on top of everything else.

Instead of going back home, Jacob took Bella back to the beach. They walked hand-in-hand, talking about all kinds of things, mainly about their lives when they were young. Bella laughed hearing stories about Rachel and Rebecca, who kept his parents on their toes for years.

Naturally, this led to stories about Jacob's mom, Sarah. He missed her tremendously and wished she was still a part of his life. Bella wrapped her arms around him, telling him how much she wished she could have met her. He was such a caring man, he must have had great role models growing up.

"As much as I'd like to stay out here forever, I really need to get back and run patrols. Check things out."

"Can you take me to Rachel and Paul's? Or Sam and Emily's? I don't want to sit at home with nothing to do," Bella asked him.

"How about Sam and Emily's? Paul is due to patrol with me."

"Sounds good. Let me check with Emily," she said, already sending Emily a text.

"She said Sam is sleeping, as long as that's fine with you."

"He's there in case something were to happen. It's fine. What are you girls going to do?" he asked.

"You never know," Bella smiled.

Jacob chuckled as he got out of the truck in Sam and Emily's yard. He walked around and met Bella on the other side. He put his hands on her hips and leaned down to kiss her good-bye. She tried to keep it chaste, but he wasn't having that. So, he ran his hands up her sides and back down until she finally gave in and gave him the kiss he wanted.

"You guys be careful. I'll pick you up in a few hours. Then we can stop and get something for dinner if you want," Jacob said, as his hand rubbed gently over her baby belly. It was getting a tad bigger each day and he was looking forward to it. In his opinion, pregnant women were beautiful. Maybe it was the commitment they were willing to make to a little human in their bellies, their bodies tormented in the process. It was a miracle to witness.

He stood in front of the truck until Bella went in the house, Emily waving from the doorway. Then he drove back to his dad's house to meet up with Paul for patrols. Paul was waiting outside, dressed only in his gym shorts. They were quick to get on and off so they all had them. Together they walked into the trees talking about the prior evening's events. It was easy to run with each other now. When they were younger Paul's cocky attitude rubbed Jacob wrong, but they'd all matured since those days.

They listened to Quil and Seth fill them in on their patrol. There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. Jacob ran ahead of Paul, his wolf wanting to do a fast sweep of the entire area. He asked Quil and Seth to run a little longer with Paul so he wasn't left alone.

When Jacob came to the south border near the highway, he noticed a car pulled off the side of the road. Suddenly, he recognized the scent. He started searching around. _Where are you?_ He wondered.

Jacob started running, calling his wolves to him. They were north and would take a few minutes to get to him. He could see Edward ahead of him pacing through the woods. On their land again!

_Hey, sparkles! What in the fuck are you doing here?_ Jacob thought, knowing the bastard could read people's thoughts. Edward didn't react. He didn't look around or try to rush away.

_Bastard, tree spying, piece of shit! I'm calling you! Come here so I can turn you to ash!_ Jacob noticed that Edward was getting closer to the road and there was no way he could follow him in wolf form. _Come here so I can use your glittery confetti at mine and Bella's wedding! How about I chop off that popsicle dick of yours so you can't stand in the forest and beat off to me having the best sex of my life?_

_You stay away from here! _ He screamed in his mind as Edward ran from the tree line to the car and drove away.

Paul, Seth and Quil trotted up to him. They were all surprised that Edward didn't react to Jacob's thoughts.

"What the hell?" Quil asked, standing in human form. He jogged out to the road and searched around for clues. There was nothing.

"This is pissing me off that he is walking here like he's welcome any time," Seth said, shaking his head at the audacity of the vampire.

Jacob stood in wolf form staring after the car, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. Edward didn't seem to know a wolf was coming up on him during the bonfire. He should have been able to hear their thoughts coming at him and either hid better or left. But he had been surprised. Now it seemed Edward didn't know he was there in the woods with him. Jacob was sure he would've taken off like the little prick he was if he knew that the wolves were there.

They all ran a fast loop around the res, making sure Edward wasn't making an attempt to enter another way.

After 2 laps, Jacob began to let his thoughts and memories of meeting John flow out to the others. They all hoped things were okay and agreed that he needed to know what was going on. They'd found with the other new wolves knowing what was happening to them made the transition a lot easier. They didn't fight the pain and were less stressed.

He'd let Quil and Seth go so that they could sleep and pulled in Embry with Leah and 2 of the new wolves for patrol. It was a grueling schedule for everyone. It had to end soon and Edward showing up again was not a good sign. Jacob hated to think of the people that were in danger because of him. There were others of his kind for Edward to go have a life with. Why did he want Bella?

When Paul and Jacob ended up behind Paul's house, Jacob told the others to howl out for him if they needed anything. They continued the serious conversation in human form as they walked toward the back of the house. Billy was in the kitchen, working on a crossword puzzle when they came in.

"Gentlemen," he greeted them.

"Dad," Jacob imitated his dad's tone. Billy just smiled.

"So, Jacob. Tell me what happened that I had to explain why several hundred foot tall trees were suddenly chopped down last night? And, please tell me how anyone even bothered to notice around here."

Jacob jumped in to the whole story with Paul adding in here and there. By the time they were done, you'd think that a whole coven of vampires had made their homes in those trees and lived there for generations.

"We've fought the logging industry and people think that they came and chopped down those trees to just piss us off. I'm half-inclined to let people believe that to get them to care more about our environment," Billy sighed. "But somehow people noticed those trees so I need to come up with a valid reason."

"Just tell them somebody saw they were getting a disease that would kill lots of other trees. They were sacrificed for the good of the forest," Paul shrugged.

"That might be the only lame excuse I can come up with," Billy responded, leaving the table.

"Did he just insult me?" Paul asked, pointing to Billy's back as he headed into the living room.

Jacob shook his head and followed his dad. He wasn't done talking to him. He needed to let him know about John. It was going to be critical that they talked to him very soon. Jacob had to know his family really was okay.

After talking to his dad, Jacob made one more pass by John's house. What Bella suggested was really getting on his nerves. Jacob parked in front of the house and luckily, John was in the garage on the phone. He was running his hand through his hair.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. I'm glad you're there safe. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel angry all of the time now. You see how my body has changed. It's creepy. I haven't been going to the gym or anything unusual. None of my clothes fit, and I've grown several inches taller. I hit puberty 10 years ago. Why am I changing like this now?"

Jacob listened carefully to both sides of the conversation and felt relief flood through him. It seemed that Tommy's mom was okay and that, for now, John was okay too. He drove on to Sam and Emily's to pick Bella up. His stomach growled loudly in the car.

Bella saw him driving up, so she met him in the front yard, jumping into his arms.

"Careful!" Jacob reminded her.

"It's fine, Jacob. My womb is a very safe place for our little pup," she giggled.

"Your womb, huh? What have you girls been doing?"

"Reading!" she said excitedly.

Jacob arched an eyebrow. Why was she so excited about reading?

"We read, _What to Expect When You're Expecting__!"_ Oh! A baby book.

"So what did you learn today?" he asked.

"Lots of gross stuff, but I learned that I can still run and as long as I don't have any kind of falls the baby will be okay! And I learned that at my next doctor's appointment, if they do an ultrasound, we can see what the baby is!" She kissed him quickly and pulled him by the hand into the house.

There were four plates on the table, so he figured they were eating dinner with the Uleys. The smell of chicken casserole wafted to his nose and his stomach was looking forward to eating.

Sam got up and greeted his alpha as he walked into the house. "I hope you're hungry. These girls have been working away in this kitchen," he smiled.

"Starved," Jacob said, sitting at the seat Bella pointed at for him.

The two couples chatted animatedly during dinner about the upcoming baby. Emily expressed her desire to keep trying. They hadn't had much success yet, but were hoping. After all of the stress of the last 24 hours, it was nice to put it aside for a little bit and enjoy an evening with friends. Bella and Jacob left a little late and headed back to their house.

In the bedroom, Jacob whispered in Bella's ear. "I forgot to give you your last gift." He nibbled her ear lobe and pulled her body back against his, thrusting himself against her. She flipped around to face him and kissed him passionately, their tongues sliding across each other and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. His hands roamed her body, caressing every inch he could reach with her locked onto him.

Jacob rolled onto his back pulling Bella with him so that she was straddling his waist. In this position, she had to release her arms. Gently, he pushed her into a sitting up position and pushed her nightgown up her body. She took the hit and pulled it off. He took advantage the moment her arms were up and put both hands on her swollen breasts. Knowing how sensitive to touch she was, he lightly palmed them and gently squeezed her nipples in the crease of his thumbs. Bella leaned her head back and moaned at the sensation, pushing herself down on him at the same time. This caused Jacob to moan as well. He reached down and pushed her panties to the side and thrust up into her in one quick motion. Slowly, she worked herself into a rhythm, him helping by holding her hips as they once again committed themselves to each other in the most personal way possible. Bella put her palms on Jacob's chest and leaned forward for a kiss.

"Want to try another position?" she smiled. Some of her reading today hadn't been from a baby book at all. She and Emily at first were looking up most successful baby-making positions. Which turned into most orgasmic positions instead. They giggled like teenagers looking together at the pictures on the internet.

"Oh really?" he asked. "Like what?"

She explained to him what she wanted him to do. It was a little awkward and embarrassing for her at first, but they both loved it. Jacob being the man he was and part of a pack of thought sharing wolves knew exactly what this position was called. He didn't want to tease Bella about it yet and he was in fact enjoying the view of her ass while she pumped herself on him.

After they'd both climaxed, he pulled her body on top of his. He kissed her cheek as her head lay back onto his shoulder. His hands gently rubbed down her chest.

"Good job, cowgirl," he whispered.

She blushed a bright red.

"Don't be embarrassed. I loved it. We can try anything you want. Just tell me," he assured her softly. It was sometimes hard to remember that she was a virgin until they met.

"I've got something you'll love," he told her as he slid her off onto the bed and turned her on her side, lifting her leg and starting again. They were spooned up against each other and it was a slow, gentle position. But he was able to nibble her shoulder and kiss her neck, while rubbing her center at the same time. Her groan told him she did love it.

"Happy birthday," he whispered.

"This is the present I want every year," she smiled.


	25. Aro

Chapter 25

Rated M

Twilight still belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

_Thanks for reading. Welcome new readers. This story has had over 10K views! Pretty cool. I am beginning the "end of school marathon," so updates may be infrequent. I'm sorry! However, I need this thing called a job to support my family. They like food and clothes, you know? Hopefully this will be done before summer break and I'll think up another great story for you. Okay, enough of my rambling. If you like the story, I love when you click the favorite button!_

**This is your only warning. Edward is a straight out sick bastard in this chapter. Consider yourself warned.**

Edward got the call Alice had prepared him for from Aro. Of course, Aro was furious that the shipment of beautiful, unattached young women had arrived with the stench of death in the container. He threatened the entire Cullen family if Edward did not arrive in Italy as soon as possible. He told Edward they would discuss the new terms upon his arrival in Volterra. When he hung up the call, Edward had to be careful not to destroy another phone. At the moment, he was riding in a hired car with the flight attendant from his chartered plane from Washington.

He sat in silence, wondering how the wolves were shutting him out. It had only ever been Bella that could block his gift. He had been gifted for nearly 100 years and she was the only one whose thoughts were blissfully silent. Too bad the woman in the car couldn't shut her repulsive thoughts off. Edward was disgusted by all of the things she wanted to do with him-not that they were so gross, but that she was recalling things she had done with other clients. Really had she no self-respect at all?

As the driver pulled up to the curb of his apartment building, he received a text from Alice. He wasn't surprised, so he simply deleted the, "**No! Edward, don't do it**!" He paid the driver and tipped him decently, nothing too obvious. Then, he held his hand out to his passenger to assist her out of the car. A beautiful smile lit his face as she looked up at him, admiring his features.

Once they crossed the threshold to his apartment, he grabbed her and pulled her close kissing her along the pulse points on her neck. She leaned her head back, giving him better access. Having the ability to read a woman's thoughts in the throes of passion, gave Edward an advantage over other men. He knew precisely what to do next and what to change to thrill the woman. She started to comment on the cold temperature of his body, when he silenced her with a forceful kiss. Edward pumped into her body, imagining it was Bella that was writhing beneath him, crying out for him. As he came, he kissed down her neck and bit her soft flesh, sucking her warm, sweet blood from her body. He drained the life from her so quickly, she couldn't even scream for help.

The limp body remained in his bed while he showered. He ignored it as he sat at his computer making arrangements for an international flight to Italy. Then, he walked over to his bed and folded the sheets and the woman into a heap. He managed to get the pile to the incinerator in the basement, without being seen, where he disposed of the evidence of his crime. Without looking back, or even feeling a bit of remorse, he raced up the stairs and packed a bag for Volterra.

It wasn't going to be easy keeping information about Bella from Aro. However, Edward realized that if he was going to ever be free of Aro, he would have to find a way. Aro had sent Victoria and her little coven after Edward when one little news story questioned how many women had gone missing recently in New York City. The annoying part was some women had gone missing-but none of the ones they were talking about were women Edward had taken. He was meticulous and if someone suspected him, he left or would've killed them.

Mistakenly, he had gotten involved with Victoria and her friends. He thought they could help out with his shipments and find women more quickly. Turned out James and Laurent couldn't follow directions, and Victoria couldn't stop bitching about Bella. She had desired Edward from the moment she said, "Hello." Edward had seen her as an outlet to his endless desire. He couldn't further his relationship with Bella until she was a vampire, and he still cursed himself for waiting.

Victoria had been a hellcat in bed. She was into all sorts of freaky things and Edward had been educated in all sorts of new things. Their bodies were indestructible and what would have been beyond painful for a human was quite pleasurable to them. Bella never suspected a thing and they had continued their semi-secret sex for months before Victoria began complaining about Edward not leaving the "little tart."

It all began to unravel when James and Laurent were draining more women than they were capturing for Aro's sick little games. He was furious with them. They knew that Aro was using Edward and how much he despised killing people. It was Aro that had first laughed at Edward when reading his thoughts.

Edward had gone too long without feeding and crossed paths with a beautiful young woman. She tried to fight his attack and she cried as she thought about the young child at home with a neighbor while she ran out to get some milk. There was no going back though. He had nearly sucked her dry and her last thought was of the child she loved so dearly who would now be an orphan.

It was then that Edward had decided he would become a vegetarian. It was too painful to hear the thoughts of the people he fed from. Inside he fought the monster that he was. In his human life, he had been caring and compassionate for others. His family was moderately wealthy and they firmly believed in helping those less fortunate. The shift to vampire was a difficult one for someone like him. Over the last century though, his heart slowly turned to the stone of which it was now comprised.

Edward became too arrogant. He had underestimated the ruthlessness the Volturi leaders operated under. They found out he had revealed himself to a young woman. They were actually quite serious before Edward told her of his "condition."

When Edward had affirmed his vegetarian ways and reasons, Aro called him "unnatural" and "a waste of space." Then he decided Edward's gift was quite useful in selecting guinea pigs for his trials. The women Aro collected were for various science experiments. Some were turned, some were left human. All were experimented on for an array of projects too unethical for any lab funded by the government or any corporations. Aro had agreed as long as Edward did as he asked, he could continue to live his sad, vegetarian life and pretend to be human.

Carlisle had chastised Edward after the meeting and took him under his roof to help him maintain their vegetarian lifestyle. Carlisle was not privy to the agreement between Edward and Aro. Edward would never let his friend know and couldn't disappoint him. They had moved away and left Edward's first love behind. He made Alice swear to never tell him anything about her. It was impossible to forget anything with his vampire memory, but he chose to block her out.

After Edward showered, he grabbed the suitcase he had packed. He caught a cab to the airport and checked in for his flight. Before going through security, he stopped into the bathroom to put on the dark brown contacts to cover up his bright red irises. They wouldn't let him through without sunglasses and he was pretty sure the eyes would draw unwanted attention. He sailed through security, making sure that there wasn't any metal on his person. There would be no way to explain his body under x-ray.

The long flight gave Edward plenty of time to plan his meeting in Volterra. The most important things were to get in and out and above all not to touch Aro. He planned a number of different strategies to keep from touching him. It was futile though. When Edward walked into the huge room, he listened to the thoughts of each person. Some were bored and some were looking forward to Aro's plan. They smiled at him, picturing what he would look like writhing on the floor begging for his life.

Aro rushed right up to him and grasped his hand without his permission. He didn't give Edward a moment to implement a single avoidance tactic.

"Oh, Edward," he clucked his tongue. "Did you really think you could hide anything from me? Why that's absurd!"

"Ooh, your Isabella is a true beauty and she shields you! How interesting! This is something I would love to know much more about. Though you think you were going to hide her from me? Tsk, tsk," he clicked again. "Now you get to stay here, while we go get her and those disgusting dogs!"

"Marcus! Caius! There are werewolves living in Washington! Can you believe it?" Aro turned away from Edward, giving a silent signal to his guard. They dragged Edward out of the room, screaming in protest. Aro simply shrugged and finished telling the other two about the woman they would capture and use for experiments. Then they discussed how there could possibly be a woman living with werewolves. It didn't make sense. They were horrific, uncontrollable creatures.

_Chapter 26 is ready to go. What do you think?_


	26. The News Gets Broken

Chapter 26

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Jacob received a disturbing call from Rosalie Cullen. He hadn't heard one word from her since she showed up that day in the woods. Alice had a complete meltdown, which was surprising to all that witnessed it because they didn't know vampires could have such episodes.

Rosalie let Jacob know what all Edward had been up to and his recent trip to Italy. It turned out that when he got there, Aro was not pleased with him at all. Unfortunately (for the Cullen family), Edward was being kept as one of Aro's new experiments. All of Edward's secrets were out though and that included Bella.

She was now their number one priority experiment-to find the woman who could block Edward's gift. They needed to know what other gifts she could block, how it worked and if they could copy that gift for other vampires. Alice had seen that after they finished experimenting on her human body, they would drain as much of her blood as they could without killing her and change her. This had caused her to flip out, shrieking and screaming in the middle of the living room.

The Cullen family insisted on Alice's full disclosure of Edward's past, present and future. They were stunned at the things Edward had been keeping from them. Rosalie left a lot of things out, but she tried to assure Jacob that it mattered to her that Bella remained human. She hadn't been given that choice and she would protect Bella's choice.

Rosalie ended up begging Jacob to promise he would take care of Bella when he refused to promise that he would flee La Push with her. The last words before she hung up were to be afraid of the vampires that were coming, and that Carlisle would be in contact with him.

It was hard to speak after that call. While speaking to Rosalie on the phone, he had been in full alpha mode. It was a side of him that handled things without too much conscious thought. It was automatic. But now that he was sitting at his desk, the furniture orders and utility bills no longer mattered. His entire tribe was now in danger. He dropped the papers from his hands and walked out. After glancing around the showroom, he caught Paul's eye. Paul rushed over and asked Jacob what was wrong.

"Do we have customers in here right now?" Jacob asked stiffly.

"No."

"Let's close up. Tell whoever's working that we're going to be closed for a while. We'll keep paying them for the next 2 weeks. Then we'll get back with them."

"What are you talking about, Jake? We can't afford to close up and pay people." Paul scowled at him.

"We need to have a meeting. Start making calls. Everyone comes. My house as soon as possible." Jacob left out the back door. Paul stared after Jacob, not having moved. Finally, he got his ass in gear and started rushing around closing up the shop. The only person working that knew what was up was Kim and she rushed out the door, not looking back.

The other members of their light crew believed a few lies that Jacob was having a family emergency before they grabbed their things and left, looking somber. As soon as Paul locked up, he hopped in his car and drove home for Rachel, Will and Billy. He called them on the way home and they were awaiting his arrival.

Paul took the longest to get to Jacob's. Since it was Sunday, those who worked during a standard work week were able to get there quickly. He glanced around the room, everyone silent and somber looking.

Ryker and Hope invited all of the kids to play in their bedrooms and all of the kids big enough to play without supervision were sent off to play.

Bella and Jacob sat at the front of the room with kitchen chairs sitting side by side. Bella rubbed her hands over her still barely there belly. Jacob cleared his throat before addressing the room. He looked around at the room full of people that he loved. His friends and family were here as well as the tribal elders. He thought about his unborn child growing in Bella's stomach, as well as his ex-wife, his son and his daughter.

"I received a call today from Rosalie Cullen. You all know how much I dislike trusting the vampires. But I have no reason to dismiss what she told me today. Edward Cullen has had a plan to take Bella and turn her. He believes that she can help him hide from the vampire leaders called the Volturi. He got himself into a bad deal. Now they have him held hostage but they know that Bella can block Edward's mind reading. They're desperate to have her. They plan on coming to get her. Last, they hate werewolves-which they think we are."

The only noises that could be heard in the room were the faint talking and laughter coming from the children in the bedrooms playing.

"What does that mean Bella blocks Edward?" Danni was the first to speak up. The alpha couple looked at her. Jacob patted her leg lightly, indicating he wanted her to explain.

"Edward has the ability to read minds. He can hear any thought you have when you are within a few miles of him. He's had to fine tune his gift over the years, especially when there are a lot of people around to hear your 'voice.' But he could never read mine. I was silent to him." Bella made eye contact with all of the adults that were looking at her before looking at the floor. It wasn't easy to discuss her life with vampires to other people.

Jacob added on, "Rosalie informed me that Edward was unable to hear our thoughts last time he was here. That's how Brady caught him in that tree, and how I walked upon him in the woods."

"Do you think Bella is blocking us all?" Sam asked, staring at Bella wondering how she fit into all this. It was something they had all wondered, but never voiced. Murmurs danced around the room as they all considered this idea. They agreed it was a possibility.

"That would be an advantage over him at least. The only thing that would make him better than us is knowing we were coming," Quil acknowledged.

Conversations filled the room as the wolves talked about how they would manage a possible attack of vampires. They knew they would need to train together and wondered how they were supposed to manage their human lives with the supernatural. Paul and Jacob would be free. Leah and Seth didn't have jobs as they had had to quit when they came home and turned into wolves.

Jacob paced around the room, talking with the elders and the wolves. He looked around for Bella and found her staring out the window. He walked up behind her and could smell the tears leaking down her face. He wrapped his warm arms around her and placed his hands over hers.

"We'll protect you. I'm sorry. I'll be here for you, honey," he whispered into her ear, placing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"Do you think it would be better if I just left? They wouldn't be able to find me it sounds like," she asked softly.

"Absolutely not!" Leah snapped. Jacob whirled around and glared at the woman. "Do you think he could possibly function without his pregnant imprint? Does that make any sense at all? We would all be slaughtered without him!"

Bella looked at Leah, who was standing on the other side of the room. Her hands were fisted at her sides and she was obviously furious.

"Leah!" Jacob scolded her.

"No! I will not back down. She cannot be selfish about this. Our entire tribe is at stake because of her and if she leaves, we will all die!"

Danni jumped to their defense, but it was Embry who snatched her back.

"Woah, girl! You don't go after a wolf like that!" he called, as she fought against him. He was too strong for her and he quickly wrapped his arms around her chest and trapped her hands by her side. He whispered to her to slow down, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Bella is the least selfish person in this room, Leah. If anyone is selfish it's you! You are doing everything you can to make everyone miserable. You shame me for not fighting for Jake against something neither of us could control. But you and I both see how much happier he is and how harmonious this pack is now! So if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at yourself. You should have accepted fate a long time ago. Why would you come back and still be pissed at Sam and Emily-especially now that you know the whole truth?" Danni asked her, her voice coming down, almost to a whine.

"I had a life! I had a great life, away from here, if you all must know! Now I get to come back to this shit," her hand flew out pointing to everyone in the room. "Life as I knew it, is gone! To add to it, I get to have Sam's lovey dovey 'Emily is perfect' montage play through my mind every time we're phased together!" Leah screamed at her. Her voice calmed down and she took a deep breath.

"You say that you're happy for Jake and Bella. But, would this be as easy for you if you had to be in Jake's head listening to how much he adores and loves Bella?" She stared pointedly at Danni and waited for a response.

Danni flapped her arms a little, asking Embry silently to let go of her. He loosened his hold, but kept his hands on her hips.

"I can't even begin to imagine what that would feel like. This has been hard on me, really hard. You all know that. Instead of walking around pissed at the world, I've been a mother to my children, a friend to my ex-husband, and a teacher to my students. My life continues to move on." She turned her head and smiled at Embry. Then she turned around and hugged him. He embraced her. Quickly, she let go of him.

"You guys have been such great friends to me and to each other. Now is the time to pull together and not start tearing into each other," Danni said.

Jacob spoke up when Danni was done and announced patrol rotations and that he would give everyone Monday to get their schedules freed up. They would figure out what to do about money and bills later. Bella offered meals to anyone that wanted to stop by. Emily agreed to help her and stay with her as well.

Embry stayed after everyone else left. He asked to speak with Jacob privately and Jacob agreed walking out to the back porch.

"What's up, Embry?"

"Well, what would you think if I asked Danni out on a date?" he asked timidly, shuffling his feet and looking at the ground. When Jacob was silent for several minutes, Embry looked up to see him looking at him.

"I'd say, it would be fine with me. I'd also say she's already had her heartbroken to imprinting though."

"I don't know that we're that serious or anything. I'm not even sure she'll say yes. I've just been thinking about it and wanted to clear it with you first."

"Danni makes her own choices now. If it doesn't affect the kids, I don't think my opinion matters anymore. If that's a risk she's willing to take."

Embry reached out and shook his hand. Jacob tugged it a little and pulled his best friend into a hug.

"I love you, man," Jacob told him. Embry patted him hard on the back and stepped back, nodding before loping off to the woods.

Jacob walked in to find Bella sitting on the couch, staring at the TV. It wasn't turned on, and he was sure, even if it was, she wouldn't be watching it. Her thoughts were far off, so he sat down beside her. His arm pulled her into his side and they sat in silence for a long time.

When his legs started cramping from lack of movement, Jacob stood and grasped Bella's hands. He gently helped her to her feet and guided her to their bedroom. Bella started to get in bed fully dressed, and Jacob stopped her. He lifted her shirt and grazed his fingers lightly down her raised arms and down her sides to her waist. His fingers then traced along the front of her jeans. He unfastened her button and unzipped them, slipping his hands down the sides. Carefully, he pulled her jeans down and when he got to her foot, she put her hands on his shoulders and lifted her foot. She repeated it when he did the same for the other leg. He placed a warm, moist kiss on her pooching stomach.

He stood and turned her hips gently, so that she would turn around. He unclasped her bra and pulled it down her arms, tossing it on the rocking chair. Then he pulled her body into his and cupped his hands over her growing stomach. His hands rubbed over their baby.

"I love you both, so much," he whispered. He kissed her shoulder before walking over to her dresser and pulling out a nightgown. He helped her into it and lifted the covers so she could get under.

He became increasingly concerned when she didn't talk or say good-night.

"Bella, honey, talk to me," he begged.

She kissed him instead. Deeply. Passionately. She climbed atop him and tried to coax him into making love to her. He gently refused her.

"As much as I want that, and believe me I always want that, I really would like to know what you're thinking. I'm worried about you. You can't keep this all bottled in. It's not good for you and it's not good for the baby."

She broke down sobbing. She laid on his chest and hugged him tightly while she cried. He stroked her back with his big palms, attempting to calm her.

"This has been the craziest thing to happen to probably anyone, Jake. But, you know, I love you. I really do. We weren't planning to have a baby, but we are and I'm so excited. Now, it could all be snatched away. What did we do to deserve this?" she cried out, shifting because her growing abdomen made it uncomfortable to lay that way.

"Oh, honey, we didn't do anything. The pack has grown and we will be training to get prepared. Carlisle is supposed to call and we can strategize as well. Do you think he's trustworthy?" he asked her opinion, debating whether to accept anything from the doctor.

"I really don't know, Jake. He's the one that concocted that story when I woke up with a broken back. But maybe Edward convinced him to do it. They could have changed me then, but he took me to the hospital. I'd say, at least listen to what he has to say, you don't have to do anything beyond that."

"Okay, I'll talk to him. Now, let's try to get some sleep," Jacob turned to his side, so he could spoon with Bella, pulling her up securely against his chest. Holding her close, he had hoped would help soothe the wolf in order to sleep. However, sleep was elusive that night for both of them. Neither slept much, nor did they talk about what was to come. They both had a ton of "what if" scenarios running through their minds. Jacob strategizing how to attack a coven of ancient vampires and Bella worrying what would happen to the baby with the stress, how the tribe could suffer if the wolves weren't prepared. She had left behind Edward and Alice's craziness in New York, or so she'd hoped. Looked like things were going to get even crazier.


	27. Happy Holidays

**Chapter 27**

**Rated M**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I couldn't find a good place to cut this one up. So, it's a long one. Hope you enjoy.**

Time passed. In fact, it flew past and some wondered if the dire warnings they received from the Cullen family were at all factual. Jacob trained with the pack until he was convinced they were lethal as a singular unit. There was no questioning his leadership anymore and the wolves all looked up to him. There were a staggering number of wolves by Christmas time. All of the old journals had been translated at Jacob's insistence. The elders didn't have anything else to do and were terrified of the future.

Not once in the past had there been a pack with 25 wolves. Slowly, they returned to work, except for Jacob. Bella was worried about the amount of time he spent training with the wolves. They trained in shifts but he worked with all of them-all day. He would be home for every meal with her and she was never left alone. It was 2 days before Christmas and Bella stood in the living room staring at the Christmas tree.

Her baby bump had popped out finally and there was no mistaking her pregnant state. She rubbed her hands over her belly, enjoying the feeling of the baby squirming around inside.

"Daddy's coming home for dinner, isn't he? I feel him, too," she smiled, going into the kitchen to pull out the meatloaf she'd made for dinner. It wasn't uncommon for others to join them for breakfast or lunch, but at Bella's insistence no one came for dinner anymore. She couldn't keep up with 3 wolf-sized meals a day anymore. She plated dinner for him and whipped up the mashed potatoes with the hand-mixer, scooping plenty for Jacob onto the plate. Her much smaller portion was dished onto her plate and she carried it over to the table.

The whine of water running sounded and she knew Jacob was showering off in the backyard. Since they were renting, he couldn't make any changes to the house, so he'd constructed a hose shower behind the house. It wasn't for normal human beings because the water was ice cold, but it got 95% of the dirt off of Jacob before he came in.

"I need a towel, honey," he called to her from the back door. She waddled her way to the linen closet and grabbed one for him. When she walked back to the door, he was holding it open, and her breath caught. He smiled at her and chuckled, knowing she was surprised he was butt naked in the backyard like that. She blushed a pretty pink before tossing the towel at his face.

"What would the neighbors think, Jake?" she asked.

"They shouldn't be able to see in our backyard, but I think they'd be happy to see such a fine male specimen."

"You're incorrigible!" she laughed. He stepped into the house and leaned down to place a kiss on her lips with the towel wrapped around his waist.

"Mmm, something smells delicious."

"I made Italian meatloaf for dinner."

"That smells good, too," he grinned at her. They sat down at the dinner table and ate together, talking over what had happened since they saw each other at lunch time.

"Do you have everything you need for Christmas?" Jacob asked Bella.

"Yes. I finished shopping for everyone last week."

"Do we need anything else for the wedding?" he asked casually, as he scooped more food onto his plate.

"I don't think so. We already bought what we're going to wear. Emily and Rachel are getting and making all of the food. We're good. Simple-easy, breezy," she answered, as she stirred around her food.

"Good. I'm excited. I can't wait. You'll finally be Bella Black," he smiled. "I want my baby's momma to have our name."

She blushed, and ran her hands over their baby. They decided at the ultrasound appointment to keep the gender a surprise. She constantly heard the wives and wolves betting on the birth date and gender. She'd quickly learned this was a fun pack ritual. They'd bet on anything from who could eat the most food at breakfast without getting sick to who could piss off Leah the fastest and make her snap and punch someone.

Hope had begged Bella and Jacob to stay at Danni's house for Christmas Eve so that they could all be together for Christmas morning. Jacob made sure that Bella was comfortable before he approached Danni with the idea. She had agreed to the plan. They weren't a traditional divorced couple by any means. The entire pack lived each day as though it was their last and things that would make others uncomfortable, were done regardless.

So, Christmas Eve morning, Jacob woke up before Bella. She was all wrapped up in the sheet and spread over her new body pillow. He suggested it after she started getting sore at night. His hand grazed her beautiful stomach. Some men did not enjoy the look of a pregnant woman, but he was not one of them. It was such a magnificent thing to see how a woman's body changed to create another human being. The stretch marks and swollen body parts didn't change how he felt. Battle scars, he decided.

Battle. He sighed. He didn't want to think about that right now.

Then he scooched down the bed and carefully lifted her nightshirt up and started placing warm kisses all over her stomach. She rolled back in her sleep, giving him better access. It was a good thing they had a king-sized bed because Bella and her pillows took up so much space. He continued to kiss down her rounded stomach until he reached her panty line. He kissed along that and across her front. Then he let a warm breath out over her mound. She groaned lightly and squirmed a little. He placed a kiss there before he crawled up the bed and held himself over her.

"It's time to wake up, honey," he whispered. He laughed quietly when her face scrunched up and she turned her head away. He'd have to motivate her to wake up and that was okay. Sounded like a plan.

Jacob made his way back down the bed. Gently, he lifted one of her legs and waited. When she didn't stir, he carefully lifted the other leg. Then he settled himself between them. His fingers pulled her panties to the side. Bella called them her "granny panties," since the big cotton undies were the only kind that felt comfortable. He blew on her freshly exposed skin and when he didn't get a reaction, he leaned in and gave her a firm lick. She squirmed. He continued to kiss, lick and suck in all the ways he knew drove Bella crazy.

At last, she opened her eyes and shifted her body to give Jacob better access. Since she was awake, he slipped her panties down her legs and spread her wide. At first she thought she was having a really good dream, but she realized it was an awesome reality.

"Good morning," she moaned, as she writhed beneath him. Jacob didn't answer her verbally, he simply continued to lap at her making her go crazy. She laid panting on the bed thinking that was a great wake-up call.

"Want to take a shower with me?" he asked, getting out of bed. She stared at his ass. It was perfect in so many ways. Firm, round and connected to strong, muscular legs. She loved to watch him walk as his muscles flexed. He cleared his throat and she gave a little laugh, before climbing out of bed.

Jacob started the shower and let Bella step in before him when the water warmed up. He watched the water run down her body as she got her hair wet. Her hair had grown so fast since she got pregnant and she talked about cutting it short. Jacob had convinced her to cut it below her shoulders. It was more manageable but was still long. With her arms over her head, her breasts bounced before him. He knelt down so that he could wrap his mouth around her darkening nipple. She squealed in shock at his surprise attack. He only suckled harder.

"Be careful. You might get more than you bargained for," she warned. She knew that her breasts were preparing for the baby, as she'd already started leaking a little.

"Nah."

"Your turn," she said, pushing him away and directing him to the water. Jacob put his face into the water and leaned his head forward letting the warm water drain down his back. Bella's fingers traced it down between his firm back side and ran her palms down his thighs and back up between his legs. She let one hand reach up and cup him in her palm. He moved his legs apart for her and she carefully caressed him.

When Jacob could no longer take her gentle torture, he turned around and kissed her passionately. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and pulled her as close to his body as he could. She continued what she'd started now that she had better access to him. Jacob put his open hands on the wall behind her, effectively trapping her in a cage of his body. She wasn't concerned with anything other than giving him equal pleasure.

Once Jacob was able to calm himself and press down the wolf that was rearing up for a rough fuck in the shower, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of Bella. Her hands worked a sensational rhythm, and just as he was there, she reached up and lightly bit his neck. The wolf loved it and so did Jacob. He caught his breath and then lovingly washed her body with the body wash and puff she left in the shower.

It took them a little less than an hour to finish getting ready to leave the house. They had plans to stop at each of the packs' families to exchange gifts and then they would end their night with Danni and the kids. Bella stood at the closet, showing Jacob which bags she needed him to pack in their truck. Then she went into the kitchen and showed him the boxes of cookie tins he needed to get as well.

They drove off to see the single wolves first, so they could all get to sleep for the day. The younger men had decided they would take the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shifts so that the guys with kids could stay home with their kids. Jacob wanted to personally thank each one of them and Bella wanted to make sure their days were special as well. That's why she'd spent hours in the kitchen making batch after batch of Christmas cookies.

It was a tradition she missed after spending years with the Cullens. Alice tried to help one year. The cookies had looked like a magazine layout and for some reason it annoyed Bella. Not everything had to be just so. She let them sit on the white footed platter until Emmett said they smelled weird before she dropped them in the trash can. After that, Bella didn't make them again. Until this year. She and Emily sat looking through cookbooks and online pictures to decide what they wanted to make. They'd selected a few different kinds but kept it simple. Chocolate chunk, M&amp;M and gingerbread cutouts made the final cut. Bella purposely messed up the icing on the cutouts so that none of them were perfect.

Their first stop was at Embry's house. He opened the door to let them in the house. Bella glanced around at the sparse living room before holding out the tin of cookies for Embry.

"I made you some Christmas cookies."

"Mmm. They smell good," he said, opening the lid right away. He made an odd face and picked up a gingerbread shaped cookie. It had little candy eye balls on its face but they were cross eyed. "Does he need glasses?"

Bella laughed. "Nope. He's perfect just like that."

Embry shrugged and bit the head off first. "Tastes fine."

They sat down on Embry's couch and chatted with him for a bit. Jacob leaned back in the couch and saw something pink catch his eye. He reached down and pinched the fabric that was sticking out. He pulled out a pair of lacey passion pink panties and held them up. Embry and Bella's faces were matching reds.

"Oh my gosh! Embry Call!" Bella called out, evident shock in her voice. "You had sex on this couch and now I'm sitting on it!" She jumped up and brushed off her butt, like she could wipe the cooties off.

"I didn't have sex on the couch, Bella. We just made out there. The sex was in the bedroom," he spilled, realizing all too soon, he'd said too much. "Um…oh my goodness. Tracy is going to die when she sees you guys again!"

Jacob stood up and laughed. It was an unfortunate reality that the wolves could scent sex in each other's houses. They had to get used to it and didn't want to make the girls uncomfortable or it would impact their own sex lives.

"I think it's time for us to get moving, Embry. Thanks so much for taking a shift tonight. I feel good having you there with the younger guys," Jacob thanked him, shaking his hand firmly before ushering Bella out the door. She had been searching underneath the kitchen sink for who-knows-what.

She buckled up and made a sound to indicate her disgust with Jacob's find. "He doesn't even have any Lysol," she grimaced.

Jacob didn't say a word about it as he drove her around to 10 other homes and they dropped off cookies and thanks. He was amazed at how well she had come to know each of the wolves and talked to them about their lives outside of being shape shifting wolves. There were a lot of things he knew about each of the wolves but with so many of them now, he had to shut them out or he'd go crazy with the constant stream. They were all able to better contain their thoughts as well. Some things still got through and big secrets didn't really exist, but the 24/7 shared thought stream was gone.

In the beginning, Bella had been timid and unsure of her place in the pack. She wasn't sure how to find her own footing. She had confessed to Jacob at one time she felt like she was replacing Danni and she wasn't like the other woman at all. Jacob assured her that she should be herself and find her own way. It took some time, but she had done it and then some.

Seth and Leah were the next stop and Bella told Jacob as they drove to the Clearwater house that she still didn't get along with Leah. He promised that everything would be civil or he would step in. So with a calming breath, Bella got out with 2 more cookie tins. She was relieved when Seth opened the door and invited them in. They talked about Seth's house in Montana. He still had been unable to sell the home and land he had bought when he left La Push. Leah sauntered into the kitchen with a smile plastered on her face. She knew when to behave herself and this was one of those times. Politely thanking Bella for the cookies, she took the tin outside with her and unceremoniously dumped it in the garbage can before walking away from the house altogether.

Seth and Jacob had both heard the thump in the trash can but decided it was one of those kinds of secrets that were okay to keep.

Seth thanked Bella for the cookies and he opened them. He, too, made a puzzled face as he pulled out a cookie, holding it up for the others to see. Right between the gingerbread cookies legs were two black dots and a straight black line. Bella laughed. That was a funny one. She accidentally shot one of the black dots out of the icing bag and decided it would be funny to equip that cookie with a wolf style manhood.

Seth gingerly set that one back in the box. He'd decided that one would be the first of Bella's cookies he'd turn down.

Jacob thanked Seth and they headed out onto the driveway. Jacob waved and opened the driver side door as Bella made her way around the front of the truck. Then she made a quick diversion and opened the trash can lid. She pulled out the tin Leah had thrown away and handed it to Seth. He held his head down and she said she didn't want good food to go to waste.

When Bella sat down, she turned to see Jacob staring at her. "You don't miss a thing, do you?" he asked her shaking his head.

"I figured it was something she would do. I kind of wanted her to see the cookie I made just for her."

"What was it?" Jacob asked curiously.

Bella pulled out her phone and swiped to the picture of the cookie that she made for Leah. Jacob started laughing the moment he saw it. It was perfect. The gingerbread cookie had been cut so that it was flipping the bird and it was a gingerbread girl. She had managed to make a red circle with the line across the center and the word "imprint" inside.

"You're funny," he chuckled. He took out his phone and sent Seth a text.

"What did you tell him?" she asked.

"Just to make sure Leah saw her cookie."

They made their rounds and had only Emily and Sam's house, as well as Rachel and Paul's house left. They were expected at Danni's house in two hours so that gave them some time with each family. Bella was closest to Emily, and she got along well with Rachel. Although, she realized that Danni and Rachel would always be best friends.

Emily greeted them with a warm hug at the door when they rang the bell. She was now sporting a small bump of her own and the women laughed when they bumped bellies. Emily led them into the living room where they sat and talked. Emily and Sam decided they would find out the gender of their baby since Jacob and Bella were not. They couldn't take anymore 'torture,' as Emily called it, smiling.

Jacob asked Emily if she had known about Bella's quirky cookies and she laughed. Of course, she had known. She had helped her create the cookies and they tossed around other ideas that wouldn't be possible with the tools they had. They'd also discussed the "special" ingredients they'd like to give some people.

For example, the woman at the bridal shop they visited to look for Bella's dress. She looked right at Bella's growing abdomen and led her to a rack of off-white and colored dresses. Emily wanted to add a little bit of cotton shreds to that woman's cookie. They'd also had an odd run in with a waitress when they went out to lunch. Since Bella had a wolf with her every minute, Seth had gone with them. The woman acted like they were out to seduce Seth. Emily said she wanted to wrap a condom around one for that woman. The two burst into giggles at their antics and Jacob stared, surprised to see a side of the women he hadn't before.

Sam walked in and greeted them. "You better watch out or these two will cook up some devious plans!"

The four remained in the living room, talking as though the looming threat did not exist. It was nice to have a day where there wasn't impending doom lingering around and tainting everything. They discussed things ranging from the best car seat brand, to a safe vehicle for a baby to the surprising friendship of Charlie Swan and Billy Black. The two had decided to go on a fishing expedition for Christmas to Florida. Charlie had found a fishing boat that would accommodate Billy's wheelchair and they'd talked about nothing but saltwater fishing for a solid month.

Bella told Emily they would see each other soon, as they left to go over to Rachel and Paul's house. No one was waiting at the door to greet them when they rang, so Jacob twisted the knob and called into the house.

"Uncle Jake?" Will's small voice answered. Jacob followed the voice to his nephew's bedroom and picked him up.

"Hey, Will. Did you just wake up from your nap?" Jacob asked him, running his hand over his back as he cuddled the boy to his chest. He didn't make a move to leave the room. Bella looked at him quizzically and asked where they were.

Jacob held one finger to his lips in a shushing motion. It was only a minute later that Paul greeted them, his hair a complete wreck. Bella's eyebrows pulled down in contemplation.

"Hey, guys! Didn't realize you were here already. Did you ring the doorbell or just walk right on in?" he asked, chuckling nervously. Bella thought it was quite unlike him, but as usual Jacob knew exactly what had been going on. Not at first, but as soon as he walked into Will's room and heard his sister's moan and his brother-in-law's grunting.

"Oh, we rang the bell. A couple of times. I knocked too. Nice and loud," Jacob confirmed, handing his nephew over.

They walked out into the living room and Rachel came out looking flushed, smoothing her clothes down.

"Hey, Merry Christmas!" she sang out happily. She glanced around nervously, avoiding eye contact. She knew her brother had pretty much caught them in the act and she was thoroughly embarrassed. Paul had been so busy lately between training and running the store without Jacob, they hadn't been as close as usual. When Will went down for a nap, they got right down to business in the bedroom.

Bella hugged her tightly, but Jacob just waved from a few feet away. He wasn't going to touch her when she reeked of sex. Bella grabbed the tin of cookies she had left on the table by the front door and handed it to Paul. She knew he would be the first to open them and start eating. Jacob wondered what special cookies Bella would make for Paul and Rachel, but Paul didn't react at all and pulled one out and started eating it. He looked at Jacob wondering why he was staring at him.

"What? They're good. She makes good cookies."

Rachel peered into the tin, looking perplexed and she started laughing out loud. Will came running.

"What, momma?" he asked.

Paul, still oblivious, held the box down so Will could see.

"Babies! Lots of babies!" he smiled, reaching out to take one of the much smaller gingerbread cookies.

The adults laughed. Paul thought it was pretty ironic that she would bring those cookies. Did she know something he didn't? He looked at Rachel, who avoided making eye contact and instead offered to make everyone a mug of hot chocolate.

Bella and Jacob left the house feeling exhausted. They drove the short distance to Danni's house and were soon greeted by two happy, squealing children.

"Daddy! Bella!" they cheered. Bella guided them in the house so that they wouldn't discover the gifts still in the back of the truck as Jacob grabbed their bags and closed the lift gate.

Jared and Kim were in the family room watching the news. Since Jared had "Danni Duty," as he called it, Kim came with him and brought popcorn for the kids to string. They had never done it before and they worked hard on getting it done. Kim had to keep slapping Jared's hand or he would have eaten all of the popcorn.

They gathered their children and their things soon after the alpha's arrival. They had plans to go see Kim's family and were headed to their house.

It took a long time to get the kids to settle down for bed that night. They were ecstatic for Christmas like all children, but more than that, their mom and dad would be there in the morning. The family had built some fun traditions in over the years and the best one in the children's opinion was the fancy pancake breakfast.

After the gifts were opened, they would make big pancakes and the kids could put on whatever toppings they wanted and could find. Then as they were eating, they each talked about one of the things they were most grateful for that Christmas. Hope was too young to have really understood the meaning in past years, but this year, she knew it was a fun time of year. Ryker reminded her of everything.

Danni sat in the recliner, holding a mug of hot tea in her hands. Even though she slept a little better having a wolf in the house every night, she still had nightmares of being snatched by a vampire. It still didn't feel outside the realm of possibilities since they knew Edward was still out there after Bella.

Bella and Jacob sat on the couch. They were respectful of Danni and kept a comfortable distance from each other.

"So what do you think of Tracy?" Bella asked.

"She's nice. Embry isn't too serious about her, he says. I'm glad he's found someone solid," Danni responded. "Even if it's for now."

"Did Embry ever ask you out on a date?" Jacob boldly asked. Her eyes darted away to the opposite side of the room. She laughed nervously.

"Yeah. I wasn't ready. I still don't think I'm ready to date anyone. Especially not a wolf. Maybe one day, but not yet. I hope he isn't holding out hope for me though."

"I understand. He asked me beforehand. I told him it was up to you."

"Thanks. I will in time. But now isn't that time. Let's get through one crisis at a time, you know?"

"Do you want any of the cookies you guys brought?" Danni asked jumping up out of the chair, dropping the subject. Jacob moved to get up but Bella stayed him with her hand. She patted his knee and made her way up. Jacob gave her an extra boost by pushing her bottom off the couch with his hand.

Then she followed Danni into the kitchen and waited until the other woman opened the cookie tin. There were a variety of cookies inside, but laying on top was an envelope with Danni's name written on it.

"These are beautiful, Bella," she complimented her. She looked at the chocolate chunks, and knew the kids would devour the M&amp;M cookies, then she looked closer at the gingerbreads. She wasn't sure, but it looked like 2 of them were hugging.

Bella walked forward and leaned on the counter across from the other woman. She gestured to the envelope and told her she should open it. Danni reached out for her reading glasses and sat on the stool to read the letter from Bella.

It took only a few minutes for both of the women to be in tears and Jacob came into the room wondering what had transpired to make them cry. They were getting out cookies.

"Were those onion cookies?" he asked jokingly. When neither woman laughed, he asked what was wrong.

Danni walked around the counter and hugged Bella. They held each other crying.

"Okay, I can't take it. Tell me what's wrong," Jacob commanded them as if they were his wolves.

"I promise," Danni whispered in Bella's ear, before pulling back. "Jake, it's chick stuff, don't worry about it. Why don't you have some of these delicious cookies?"

"I'll let it go for now," he conceded. "But I've had a lot of those cookies already, I don't want any more tonight. Let's check on the kids and see if they're asleep. Then we can put the gifts under the tree."

Danni checked on Ryker and Jacob checked on Hope, while Bella filled their stockings with a bag of things Danni had hidden in her room. Then, the parents pulled the gifts they had purchased out of the truck and hiding places in the house and worked together to arrange everything under the tree.

When they were done, they all stepped back, admiring their work. Jacob stood between the two women and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. He squeezed them both lightly, thinking he was very lucky to have had Danni in his life, but more so her understanding when he wasn't sure he could have gifted her with the same. Then he thought about Bella, how she balanced him. He had never had to be a fierce warrior when he phased the first time around. The imprint bound them together in ways he never imagined.

"Merry Christmas," Bella said. She wrapped her arm around Jacob's waist and patted Danni's back.

Everyone headed toward their respective bedrooms for the night. They knew the kids would be awake really early in the morning and they should at least lay down to rest. Though, all were resting, none of them were sleeping. Jacob with his supernatural senses could hear all of the heart beats in the house. The kids were slow and restful. He chuckled realizing he hadn't really needed to check on Hope, but he wanted to sneak in another kiss while she was sleeping. Danni's heart beat was between restful and awake, but Bella's was fluttering away as if she were doing laundry or cooking.

"Talk to me," Jacob told her, turning to cuddle up next to her. "Can I help you get comfortable somehow?" The guest bed was only a queen and they didn't have the space they were used to.

"I'm fine that way. Just thinking. Worrying, really."

"Tell me what's on your mind. Maybe I can help."

"I was thinking what if this was our last Christmas together?" He could smell the salty tears that were cresting over her eyelids.

"I wish I could say I knew it would be our first of many. But I don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep," he told her honestly. "So I say, let's make the best of it and have the best Christmas we've ever had in our lives. Thank you so much for coming here for my kids. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"Of course, Jake! I do know how much it means to you. You know how much I love the kids. Danni, she's just been one heck of a trooper. I hope one day when she's ready, she finds the right man."

"So, tell me about the letter you gave her."

Bella sighed loudly. It was something she wanted to keep between her and Danni. But she knew her alpha wolf husband was used to knowing everything. If he didn't get it out of her, he'd probably go to Danni the next day. She'd rather he heard it from her.

"Can you hear me out?" she asked, looking at him.

"Yes."

"I mean it, Jake. Let me finish the whole thing before you talk. You're going to freak out." She waited until he nodded his head to agree.

"Well, I've had a lot of time to think about all of this. I don't know what's coming and there's so much that is unknown about us-me and you. Like you, I don't trust any of the Cullens anymore. Maybe Rosalie, some, but she said she's only on my side because her choice was taken away. She didn't say it was because she thought I was a great person and she adored me.

"But, everyone thinks if I were to die-that you would to," he grumbled at this point, but she gently kissed him and kept talking. "I keep thinking, what if they're wrong? What if I die, but you don't? Anyway, I've also been thinking about what would happen if we both died and our baby survived. What would happen to our little one? So that's what the letter was about. I asked Danni to take care of you if there was ever a time I couldn't and I asked her to take the baby if there came a time that we couldn't. It would be best for the baby to live with its brother and sister." Bella looked up nervously at Jacob.

His face was ashen. Of course, Bella had thought of everything he had, but he had already had this conversation with Paul and Sam. He wanted to be sure Bella and the baby were cared for if something happened to him and they survived. It wasn't something anyone wanted to plan for, yet all parents should have a plan for their children.

They both cried quietly together, unsure of what the future would bring them. Finally, Jacob pulled himself together and told Bella that for Christmas, they'd put their worries aside. That if something were to happen to either of them, they had an entire pack that was willing to step up and care for them in any way that was needed.

All too early the kids were awake and cheering that Santa had come. Hope bounced on the foot of the bed.

"Daddy! Bella! Time to wake up! There are presents! Come on! Let's go!" she laughed, bouncing and grabbing their feet.

Groggily, both adults rolled out of bed and went into the living room. Danni walked out of the kitchen looking equally exhausted, but holding two mugs. One with coffee, she handed to Jacob and the other with warm apple cider for Bella. They thanked her and sat on the couch. The kids were walking around the tree pointing to different gifts and figuring out which ones belonged to each person.

"Okay, choose one," Danni said. The kids each grabbed the gift they wanted to open first and spread apart to rip into them.

"A scooter! Yes! Just the one I wanted," Ryker smiled, holding it up while his mom and dad each took a picture.

"What'd you open, Hope?" Bella asked her.

She already had the package open and the baby doll laying in her arms.

"It's the perfect baby," Hope said, rubbing its head roughly. Jacob reminded her that real babies needed a soft touch.

Everyone enjoyed the happy morning. The kids had packages from their grandparents and aunts and uncles. There were a lot of practical things and some traditional gifts as well. Bella asked Jacob who made the wooden toys the kids got. He told her to guess. She thought it was him, since she had seen the magic he worked in the woodshop.

"Nope. My dad. He taught me a lot of things."

Bella and Jacob had given Danni a sweater and scarf set. Jacob said he had a couple other gifts for Bella at home, but he gave her a small box. She opened it and inside was a picture frame. It was a beautiful wedding frame and she leaned over to give him a chaste kiss.

"One more gift!" Bella smiled. She took the small box she had hidden in the tree and handed it to Danni.

Danni opened the box and gushed over the gift.

"I have the exact same one. I thought it was a way to show our commitment to this family, as unique as it is."

Jacob stood up and leaned over Danni's shoulder. He had seen a lot of women with the circles on chains, but hadn't really taken the time to examine them.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's called a floating locket. I put the same charms inside for both of us. It has the stones for each of the kids' birthdays, as well as a 'family' charm. You can add to it if you want."

"Thanks, Bella. This means a lot to me," Danni stood up and hugged her.

"Okay, who's ready for pancakes?"

The kids whooped before following them into the kitchen. Bella watched in amazement as the kids made what looked to be the grossest pancakes in history. Ryker had taken a handful of O cereal, chocolate syrup and then sprinkled chocolate chips on top. Hope had spread strawberry jam across hers, which didn't seem too bad until she added pineapple tidbits and banana slices.

Bella took her plate and poured a small amount of maple syrup across hers before taking small bites. Jacob held up a bite for her, but she shook her head. Pancakes with cheese and bacon? No way.

"You don't know what you're missing until you try it," he taunted. He did the airplane maneuver and put the fork in front of her mouth again.

"Mommy says that you can't say you don't like something until you've had one bite," proclaimed Ryker. Internally, Bella groaned. The kids were watching her and she knew if she refused, she could start a future trend.

Begrudgingly, she opened her mouth and took the bite. She chewed it up and swallowed it. Yep, it was as disgusting as she thought it would be. She grabbed a glass of juice and gulped it down.

"Mmm. Delicious," Jacob teased as he took another bite.

After such a fun-filled day, Bella wasn't as ready to leave as she thought she would be. They hugged the kids and Danni telling them they would see them for the wedding ceremony on New Year's Eve.

They trudged into their house and plopped on the couch. Jacob sat there for a while in silence before he got up and went into the garage. He told Bella to stay where she was and he'd be right back. When he came back in, he was carrying a large wrapped box. Bella chuckled because he'd used 3 different kinds of wrapping paper to cover it. She pulled the paper off and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful cradle.

"Jacob," she gasped. He lifted it out of the box and put it on the floor so she could see it. "It's…it's…"

"It isn't mine. I had to buy it. I'm sorry but I haven't had time to make things right now."

"That's okay. I know our baby will love sleeping in there."

He turned her around and kissed her. He growled a little before pushing his hands up her shirt. He rubbed his palms over her stomach.

"Let's go to bed," she groaned and pulled his hand behind her.

**Thanks for reading! We've made it to nearly 12,000 views.**


	28. Baby Time!

Chapter 28

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I've had to use some creative license in this chapter. Hope that works for you. Forks is really a *small* town!

Bella was past the point of uncomfortable. Everything hurt. If she sneezed, coughed or laughed, she peed her pants. It was embarrassing. Her stomach was huge and covered in stretch marks. The doctor continued to assure the couple that things were fine. Bella was still due at the end of February. That was six weeks away.

She stood in the kitchen, staring blankly into the pantry. How was she supposed to cook dinner when she didn't even feel like eating? She was hungry, but every meal seemed to give her heartburn. At that moment, she felt worse than she had so far. She was tired and achy all over.

Poor Jacob continued to run himself ragged looking for Edward or the Volturi. Rosalie had taken to calling every Sunday to speak with Jacob and give him an update. Edward was still being tortured in Italy and his family wasn't sure if they could ever help him. Rosalie also said Alice hadn't seen any visions of the leaders yet. Carlisle and Esme had gone to Italy to see if they could help Edward.

Bella finally grabbed a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese. She grabbed a few other ingredients to spice it up and set to work making dinner for Jacob. He was worrying about her too and she wanted to somehow lessen the load.

Just as she pulled the huge casserole dish from the oven, her back seized up. The casserole dish made it to the stove top just in time, as she cried out in pain.

"Jacob!" she yelled out. "Jacob! Help me!" Her hands were on the oven handle as she breathed deeply in and out, occasionally panting from the pain.

"JACOB!" she managed one last scream before she was on the floor crying.

"Honey? What's going on?" Jacob screamed out as he ran into the house. "Bells, what's going on? Did you hurt yourself?"

She gasped and tried to speak but the pain was too much. Jacob knelt down and rubbed his hand across her back. He listened to the baby's heartbeat, and palmed Bella's large stomach. He could feel how tense it was and the baby's heartbeat was racing compared to its usual rhythm.

"We need to go to the hospital," Jacob announced, as he picked her body up and headed to the truck. Thankfully the keys were laying on the counter with his cell phone. He texted Paul and told him Bella needed to go to the hospital.

He set her carefully in the front seat, sliding it back and tilting it so she would be comfortable. He hopped in and drove her there, listening closely to the sounds of both the precious beings next to him. Upon arrival, he parked haphazardly and carried Bella into the main entrance.

"My wife might be in labor, but something is wrong. She's in a lot of pain," he told the receptionist, who picked up a phone, calling a nurse out. The big doors swung open and an older nurse came out with a wheelchair.

"Hi, I'm Leslie, what's the patient's name?"

"Bella Black. She's not due for 6 weeks. But when I came home from work she was on the floor crying."

"Bella, can you tell me what you're feeling?"

"It hurts. All over, it hurts. I took dinner out of the oven and everything started burning and I couldn't stand up anymore."

"Okay. Well, we're going to check you out and we'll call your doctor. Don't worry. I'm sure everything's fine."

Jacob's hospital experience made him hate to be there and he knew Bella was feeling even more scared. She'd had broken bones that left her immobilized for a long time. Jacob remembered how he had suddenly healed after their imprint. He hoped that it helped Bella breeze through whatever was coming for her.

The nurse steered Bella into a room as she moaned in pain. They managed to get her into the bed and Bella complained when she needed to put on a hospital gown. Jacob comforted her the best he could, helping her out of her clothes into the stiff gown. Thankfully, Leslie had the patience of a saint because Bella wasn't being her usual laidback self. She was hooked up to a pulse oximeter, fetal heart monitor, blood pressure cuff, and then the nurse mentioned an IV and Bella really started getting pissy.

When the monitor on her belly started to show regular contractions, Leslie stepped out to call the doctor. It looked like Bella was in labor after all. Leslie knew by the other woman's agitation there probably wasn't much time left before she delivered.

To Bella it seemed like forever, but in reality it was 20 minutes before the doctor came into the room. He smiled warmly at Jacob and introduced himself to Bella. He asked how she was feeling and when she glared at him and started asking him where he'd been and what took him so long, he looked over the long paper strip and quickly scrubbed his arms. It wasn't long before things were hopping in Bella's room. Dr. Scott had called back Leslie, but also called in the pediatric nurses. It was a small hospital, and if the baby needed intensive care, it would have to be transferred.

Jacob watched as a cart was rolled in with a flat area and a big light on top of it. The nurses plugged it in and covered the flat part with blankets. The lamp was warm and he realized it was a crib of sorts. His attention returned to Bella when she growled at the nurse trying to insert an IV into her hand. Jacob jumped over and grabbed Bella's free hand.

"Honey, are you ready? We're getting ready to meet our son or daughter!" Jacob stroked her hair back and looked at her with bright eyes. He was excited and he knew underneath the fear Bella was too.

"I'm right here. You're going to be fine. I won't let anything happen to you. I love you and I'm proud of you."

"Jake, it's too soon. I must've done something wrong. I shouldn't have made such a heavy dish for dinner. This is all my fault," she started crying again. However, she hadn't noticed that the IV was now placed securely in her left hand. Leslie smiled and winked at Jacob as she dropped the other pieces in the trash can.

"Okay, Bella. I need to check you and see how far along you are. Ready?" Dr. Scott asked. He was covered in blue scrubs, mask and hat. Bella gulped and laid back on the bed, trying to relax.

"Bella and Jake, it's not going to be long at all. So, Bella when you feel like pushing, you do what feels normal. I'll coach you if I need to."

Bella felt the next contraction come on stronger than before and she pushed the feeling away. She took a deep breath and pushed again when the doctor gave her the cue. It didn't take much more for Bella to push the baby out all of the way.

"Well, Dad, what have we got?" Dr. Scott asked as he held the baby up for inspection before handing over the baby to the nurses at the warmer.

"It's a boy! It's our son!" Jacob smiled at Bella, tears coming down both their faces. He kissed Bella's face and then stood to look at his son. Jacob stayed back but noticed that the nurses were working quickly to get various things hooked up to him. He had tubes in his nose and little sensors all over his chest. Jacob couldn't believe how small he looked. He looked much smaller than Hope or Ryker, but they had both been born full term.

"Is everything okay?" Bella asked, looking over at him concerned.

"Well, he's just not breathing as good on his own as we want him to," one of the nurse practitioners said. Somebody had stepped out of the room and Jacob could hear they were calling for a pediatrician to come to their room stat.

Dr. Scott finished Bella with the delivery of her placenta and cleaned her up. The bed was reassembled so that she could lay down. She stared over at the baby, looking terrified. The pediatrician rushed in and started barking out orders to the people around him. It wasn't long before the baby was rushed out of the room. Bella sobbed. She hadn't even had a chance to see him before he was wheeled away.

"Wait!" Jacob called out down the hallway. He ran up to them and said he wanted a picture for his wife. He took out his cell phone and snapped a few pictures before they insisted they had to go. He turned back into Bella's room and showed her his phone.

"Go with him. I'm scared. Please go with him," she pleaded.

"I will. As soon as someone can come sit with you, I'll go."

Emily and Xander, one of the newer wolves, came in about 15 minutes later. They promised to stay with Bella and Jacob had reminded Xander that he could not fail in his protection. Xander just nodded in his usual serious manner.

Jacob spoke with Leslie about catching up to the baby. He shook his head in astonishment as he walked away. They hadn't even decided on a name yet. They thought there would be more time and Bella thought that once she saw the baby, she'd get a better idea on the name. She pointed him to the nursery, where he watched helplessly through the window. They were hooking him up to all kinds of machines and looking at his heart with what Jacob thought was an ultrasound. The doctors were pointing to something they saw. Another nurse, walked to the phone and Jacob heard only bits of the conversation over the din of the hospital. But helicopter and transport to another hospital rang out loud and clear.

He stood frozen as he watched his tiny newborn son get packed into what looked like a plastic box. Finally a nurse came out to tell him what was going on. She'd explained something about being a preemie and not breathing properly. The hospital was just a community hospital and they didn't have the equipment for such a small, sick baby. Jacob had flinched when she said sick. Sick? He was sick?

"Where will he be going?"

"He needs to be in the NICU. He's going to be flown to a hospital in Olympia." Jacob gasped.

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do to help him here?" he asked.

"We've tried everything. We're just not equipped to handle it," she apologized.

Jacob could hear the loud approach of the helicopters rotors. It was a difficult decision to make, but he had to keep someone assigned to Bella while he followed their son to Olympia. Anything could happen and he was going to be there.

He speed-walked back to Bella's room. As soon as he walked in, her head turned to him.

"He's going to be transferred to a hospital in Olympia. They don't have the equipment they need to help him breathe. They've stabilized him, but he's flying out by helicopter." The eyes of the adults in the room grew wide at the news. Bella tried to get out of bed, as they all jumped to stop her.

"Honey, no! You need to rest," Jacob gently pushed her back onto the bed. Emily reached out to grab her hand.

"Hey, you just had a baby. Let Jake go. He can watch him. Tell us his name, so Jake can tell the nurses when he gets there," Emily said, looking up with glistening eyes at Jacob. Jacob quickly glanced over to Bella.

Bella's eyes searched Jacob's, nervous about what he would think of the name she wanted.

"Joseph Charles Black," she said, quietly. Jacob smiled and nodded.

"Little Joey, it is, then," he leaned over and kissed her. Standing up, he told Xander to stay with Bella no matter what. That he was not to leave her alone for a moment until one of the other wolves relieved him. With the order given, Jake was out the door and running through the Olympic National Forest. His mind pushed his body harder.

Bella called Paul and Rachel to let them know everything that was going on. Paul promised they would come with Billy to the hospital to see her, but she insisted they stay home. She had every intention of leaving as soon as she could. Her baby would not be alone. Emily tried to talk her out of it when she got off the phone, but Bella wouldn't listen to anything else.

When Jacob reached the hospital, he realized he was there much too soon. There was no way he could have driven that fast. It was a 3 hour drive. He made some calls to the pack and to Bella. He thought she should stay in the hospital, but she assured him she would be okay as long as she could see Joseph. She hadn't even seen the baby for more than a glimpse. Jacob made sure she understood that she was not to go anywhere alone and that 2 wolves would make the drive with her. If she needed to use the bathroom, they were to check it and then guard it.

Jacob got a quick meal in the cafeteria, devouring the food within a few minutes. Luckily, the place was deserted because he was sure that would have raised a few eyebrows.

Finally, it seemed like a reasonable amount of time to show up to the hospital. If anyone asked, he would say he got a head start after one of the nurses told him what was going on. He found the front desk and told the older gentleman why he was there. Jacob swiped his driver's license and put on a sticker badge. He followed the man's directions to the NICU. There was a huge "no cell phones" sign hanging on the door, so before going in, he texted Paul to let him know. If there was an emergency, they were to call his cell twice in a row.

The NICU was a locked unit and Jacob stared around at all of the signs posted by the door. It was pretty overwhelming. No sick people, wash hands, cover your clothing, no looking at other people's babies. At last, he found the small sign that said, "For entry, press button, state patient's name." He depressed the button and waited. A phone on the wall rang and he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Who are you here to see?"

"Joseph Black."

"Um…what is the mother's name, please?"

"Bella Black, he just arrived by helicopter from Forks Community."

"When the door buzzes, please go to Pod 2. The nurse will meet you there."

A loud buzzing was heard and Jacob swung the door open. His eyes searched for Pod 2 and finally he saw a young woman waving toward him. He walked in her direction and told her what he was looking for. She introduced herself as Carrie, his son's nurse. Then she showed him the sink for scrubbing in and walked him over to the isolette. Jacob's heart broke just a little bit when he saw his tiny son laying on the bed. It was a lot like the plastic one that he had been put in in Forks. The nurse pushed a button and the top lifted off. The tubes on his nose were gone, but instead there was a tube in his mouth.

"What's that for?" Jacob asked, pointing to it.

"He's struggling to breath on his own. So he's been intubated. Hopefully, he will get stronger soon and won't need it anymore. He also has a hole in his heart, so the oxygen is helping his body relax. He doesn't need to work too hard to breath, the machine does the work for his tiny lungs. The cardiologist will assess him in the morning."

"Can I hold him?"

"Not right now. But you can touch him. Preemies don't like to have their skin rubbed, so just hold your hand on his skin and talk to him." Carrie smiled and went about some other work, checking on the other babies that were around Joseph and talking to the other nurses.

It was one of Jacob's worst nightmares come to life-well except the other nightmares he was living because of Edward Cullen. After spending so much time in the hospital, he hated being in one. Especially in intensive care where there were so many machines and alarms constantly whirring and beeping.

Stepping up to the bed, Jacob reached in and placed his hand gently on his son's small head.

"Hi buddy. You got a helicopter ride already. Your brother and sister are going to be so jealous that you got to go first. Mommy will be here soon. She misses you already. Let's get you better real fast so you can come home."

Carrie walked back up with a chair for Jacob. She told him he could open the little arm holes on the front, but she was going to close the lid to make sure Joseph stayed warm. Once he told her his name, she always called him that. When she brought a little card with his name on it and put it on the top, he smiled.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, so he told Carrie he was going to step out to check on his wife. In the hall, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw there were a number of texts. Mostly, they were "congratulations" messages for them and "get well soon" for the baby. He texted Rachel and asked her to tell everybody what was going on.

Then he called Xander. He filled Jacob in on the current situation. Bella had been released from the hospital, but they were headed home to pick up things they needed. She was getting a bag of clothes for everybody and the car seat. Xander said that Embry, Seth and Quil were all waiting there and would drive her to Olympia. Jacob thanked him for his help, and asked to talk to Bella.

"Hey, Bells. How are you feeling? You aren't sore are you?"

"Not too bad. I feel like I just had a baby," she laughed lightly at her joke. "How's Joseph doing?" Jacob filled her in on his condition and the cardiologist. She gasped a little bit at that news. "Well, we're pulling in the driveway. Text me if you think of anything specific you want."

Pushing the call button, Jacob had his hand on the phone as it rang. He repeated who he was there to see to the person on the other end and was buzzed back into the door. This time, he knew which way to go and scrubbed his arms off before returning to his chair.

"How's Mom doing? It's always hard on them when the baby leaves," Carrie asked Jacob.

"She's doing okay. She's on her way here, already got herself released from the hospital."

"They usually do," she smiled. "It's motherhood. Hey, there's a nice little hotel across the street, not too expensive. Maybe you should go get a room for the night now before it gets too late. We're here all night and Mom is welcome anytime. Except, if there's a baby in the pod in distress. Then we don't allow visitors."

"That's a good idea. I'll hang here a while longer if you don't mind and then go over there. Do you know what time the office closes?"

"I'm not sure but I believe midnight," she responded.

Jacob sat back in the chair watching his son. He'd move his hands and feet every so often and Jacob couldn't help but put his hand back in and cradle his son's head. It fit so perfectly in the palm of his hand. He didn't move from that position until Carrie came over to let him know it was 11:30. He thanked her and stood up, telling Joseph he would be back soon.

Since it was so late at night, Jacob had no problem running across the street to the hotel. It was a nice chain hotel and Jacob was glad it was right there. They were not going home until Joseph did.

"Good evening, Sir," the man at the counter greeted him. He smiled widely at Jacob. "How may I help you?"

"My son is in the hospital across the street. I need to get a room for the night."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope everything's okay. Let me see what we have available," Terrance said, Jacob glanced at his nametag. "I have a room with one double bed." Terrance's eyes ran over Jacob's form and shook his head. "That'll never work for you." Then he winked. Jacob cringed. This kind of thing never happened at home because he lived in such a small town. Everybody knew he was taken.

"Actually, do you have two connecting rooms? My wife is coming into town with my friends and they will all need a place to stay tonight."

"Sure. One is a king suite and the other has two double beds. We usually use it for parents with their children so it should work perfectly for you."

Jacob gave the man his credit card and driver's license. He typed all of the information into the computer and handed Jacob two envelopes with plastic swipe cards inside.

"Thanks for your help. Have a good night," Jacob said, walking away to find the rooms and check them out. Jacob found the stairs and took them two at a time to the 3rd floor. He chuckled at the irony. Following the signs at the end of the stairwell, he found the rooms and went into each one unlocking the door between them. The price was fair and the rooms were both adequate for their needs. After opening the drapes, he saw they were facing the hospital. He couldn't see into the hospital, but he liked having a visual of it.

Upon inspection of the bathroom, Jacob realized the king suite had an accessible shower, but no bathtub. That worked for him because the shower had extra space. He decided that getting cleaned up would help him await Bella's arrival. It would be the middle of the night by the time they got there.

Jacob called the hospital and asked to speak to Joseph's nurse. He gave her his contact information and told her he was going to try to nap until his wife arrived. She said that if anything came up, she would call him right away.

The white comforter was too thick for Jacob, so he pulled it off and tossed it over a chair. The thermostat said 65 degrees and Jacob figured it was plenty warm for him, but Bella would be freezing later. So he kicked the heat on and set it to 68.

Sleep never came to Jacob as he lay in the bed staring at the ceiling. Supernatural hearing in a hotel really sucked. He could hear the TVs on around him, people talking on the phone and to each other, and worse lovers and their noises. He tried putting pillows over his ears and then he worried he wouldn't hear his phone.

Giving up, Jacob sat up in bed and turned the TV on. He channel surfed for a while watching the local news and ridiculous reality shows. There weren't a lot of choices at this time of the night. He decided to call Bella and see how much longer she was going to be.

She said they were within an hour's drive of the hospital and she was trying to get Embry to slow down a little bit. Of course she wanted to get there as quickly as possible but she didn't want to have a heart attack in the process. Jacob chuckled. He knew how Embry drove. But he told his friend to be careful with his wife or else.

An hour later, Jacob paced outside the hospital entrance. When he saw their truck pull up, he walked up to the door and opened it for Bella. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"Hey, honey," he said sweetly, looking her over. She appeared to be okay, just tired. "Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah. I was. How's Joseph?" she asked.

"He's doing good. He's adorable. He has brown hair like yours and his skin is a little lighter than mine. You're going to be in love as soon as you see him," he gushed. She smiled in return.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming together," Jacob leaned in the window, grinning at his friends. They congratulated him on the new addition. Jacob reached in his back pocket and grabbed the two key cards for their room. He told them where to go and to put his and Bella's bags on the desk in the room. Quil offered to stay with them. Jacob told him to go get some rest because he thought they were pretty safe for the time being. They drove out of the car drop off and over to the hotel.

Jacob helped Bella to the desk. It was closed, but he knew the way to the NICU anyhow. He showed her where to go and how she could get in if she came without him. The phone rang and he once more announced his visit. He'd feel dumb, but there were plenty of people coming and going.

Carrie met them and showed Bella how to properly wash her hands before revealing her son. Bella's eyes filled with tears and Carrie stepped back to let Jacob talk to her. Jacob pulled her body close to his. They reached down into the isolette and gently touched Joseph at the same time. They watched as his heart beat stabilized and grinned at each other.

"He's happy now that his mommy and daddy are here," she whispered, smiling down at her newest love. She didn't think it was possible to love someone so much after just meeting them. But it had happened twice in her life. "Mommy's here, Joseph. We're here. We love you."


	29. Run For Your Life!

Chapter 29

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

_Thanks for sticking with me. This is by far longer than I imagined and I feel like it's lost a bit of its original momentum._

Bella and Jacob stayed in the NICU until 4 in the morning or so. Another baby was in distress and they had to leave. It was just as well because Jacob didn't think he could pry Bella out of there with a crowbar. He was worried about her and wanted to make sure she rested.

They walked back down to the entrance and started to cross the street. Jacob scooped Bella up into his arms and jogged with her to the hotel door. The lobby was closed, but his key card opened a side door.

The room was comfortable and both parents were exhausted from the long day. They slipped into their sleep clothes, and laid down. Jacob promised Bella that he would leave his cell phone on. Exhaustion took them both into a deep sleep.

Jacob could hear a quiet debate in the room next door. The room darkening curtains left the room pitch black, but Jacob could see a sliver of light around the outside edges. It was at least after sunrise. Without stirring, he listened to the discussion between his pack mates.

"There's a breakfast buffet until 9, but one of us needs to stay up here with them. So why doesn't Seth stay here, while we go eat first? Then he can go eat when we get back?" Quil suggested.

"No way, asshole. Then you guys will eat all of the food and I'll get nothing," Seth whined.

"What if we bring you back a plate?" Embry offered.

"You can all just go and shut up," Jacob finally said, just loud enough for them to hear.

Embry peered into the room. "Sorry, dude. Let us know if you need us."

The trio walked out in the hall talking about the buffet, wondering if the hotel could really fill them up. Seth talking about Belgian waffles was the last thing Jacob heard.

"Everything okay?" Bella asked through a yawn.

"The 3 Stooges are going to the breakfast buffet."

"Oh, they'll be there until they get kicked out," she laughed, thinking of how much the pack could eat. The staff would probably think they were starving since they were in such good shape.

"When can we go back to see Joseph?" she asked, stretching out.

"After you take a shower and eat breakfast," he answered her, kissing her forehead. "But I'll call now if you want and see how the rest of the night went."

Bella got out of bed and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day. She looked at the bags under her eyes and muttered they looked like suitcases. When she pulled off her nightgown, she was surprised at how swollen her belly still looked. Her breasts were tender as well. In the warm shower, she leaned into the spray enjoying the feeling. Jacob stepped in close behind her without a word or a sound. Instead of jumping, she leaned back into him.

"I'm on complete pelvic rest for 6 weeks, Jake. I can't do anything." She sounded disappointed.

"It's okay, honey. I only wanted to be close to you." He kissed her shoulder and grabbed the bar of soap to wash up.

Breakfast was a quick affair for both of them. They were both anxious to get back to the NICU. Jacob had hoovered his breakfast and Bella only shook her head. She ate a little bit, but not enough according to Jacob. He grabbed a few granola bars from the hotel gift shop before they left.

In daylight, the road was busier and they had to find the crosswalk to get to the other side. They signed in with the receptionist, getting their stickers before going upstairs. When they went into Joseph's pod, his new nurse greeted them and introduced herself. Her name was Clara. Jacob noted she looked quite like a grandmother and asked how long she worked in the NICU. She smiled widely and said, "Probably longer than you've been alive."

She talked to them about his cardiologist appointment that would occur sometime that morning. The doctor was doing his rounds, but hadn't made it there yet. She thought he was looking a little jaundice, so blood tests had been ordered and if needed fluorescent lights would be added to the isolette.

Bella reached in and caressed her baby. She noticed that he was agitated when she rubbed his skin, so she just wrapped her fingers around his tiny hand instead. They stayed for hours awaiting the arrival of the doctor. Bella was leaning back in a chair, when Clara gasped a bit.

"Oh, Mrs. Black, I think your milk has come in. Have you pumped your milk? We have bottles that we can store the milk in until he's ready to bottle feed."

Bella and Jacob looked down at her shirt and saw two round wet spots. Bella groaned and covered them in embarrassment. Clara tried to comfort her and tell her it was only natural. She called one of the hospital lactation consultants to come show Bella the nursing room. The hospital had quality pumps set up for the mothers of NICU babies.

Jacob tried to follow the women into the room, but the dark skinned woman stopped him. "Oh no, Sir. This room is for mothers only." She closed the door and he sat down right outside of it.

Pulling out his phone, he texted Embry and asked him to bring a clean bra and shirt for Bella to wear. He said he'd explain later, but everything was fine. Embry called him about 10 minutes later and Jacob gave him directions to the area they were in. Just as Embry walked up to Jacob, the door pulled open and Bella smiled at Jacob.

"Look, I did it!" she exclaimed excitedly, holding up two small bottles with milk inside. Her face burned with embarrassment when she saw Embry staring at her. Quickly, she snapped her arms down over the wet shirt she was wearing.

Embry reached out with the plastic bag of clothes and handed them to Jacob, and left without saying a thing, equally as embarrassed. Jacob laughed at his friend and handed the dry clothes to Bella.

"Here, Em brought you dry clothes. I'll hold all that stuff," Jacob took a plastic bag from Bella and the two bottles of breast milk.

Bella turned back into the room and was back in a few short minutes with her clean clothes on.

"She gave me my own equipment to hook up to the machine. Although I'm going to have to rent one of those until I can feed Joseph." Bella held open the bag so Jacob could look inside. His eyebrows raised at the cone shaped plastic and tubing in the bag.

"Huh," was all he could say.

They were able to reenter the NICU without going through the buzzing door from the nursing room. It was designed so the nurses could check on the babies while mother's fed them, and also so mothers could express milk and bring it to the nurses.

Clara clapped softly when Bella came back with bottles in hand. "This will be just the food he needs when he's ready. We'll put it in the fridge with these labels on it. If you'll put the date and the amount on each one, I'll show which place is his."

The cardiologist came shortly after Bella and Jacob had returned from lunch. He was a down-to-earth kind of guy, explaining everything to them in a way they would understand. Joseph had a common preemie condition with a hole in his heart. They would first try medication to close it and if that didn't work, they would talk about surgery.

As for his lungs, the tiny community hospital didn't have the medication they would normally give a preemie within the first few hours of birth to help with his lungs. The doctor thought that after they were able to get his heart repaired, they could try letting Joseph breathe on his own with just the nasal cannula.

He also warned that often preemies made strides and fallbacks. It seemed like it was always two steps forward and one step back. It didn't mean he wouldn't get well. The man shook their hands and left, examining other babies in the pod.

The wolves traded out shifts with each other every day. They stood outside the hospital, looking for any sign of Cullen or the Volturi. Rose still hadn't heard from Carlisle or Esme, so she was worried about their well-being.

Leah had come to the hospital and offered to go upstairs with Bella, while Jacob dealt with some business outside on the phone. Bella's eyebrows rose at the offer, surprised that Leah would be nice about anything. To her further surprise, Leah had softened at the sight of the little baby, hooked up to monitors and machines laying so helpless in a tiny bed.

"He's beautiful, Bella. He really is," she'd said. "I can't get over how little he is. I don't think I've ever seen such a little guy." She leaned over the bed and started talking sweetly to the baby. Bella smiled down at him too.

"I need to go pump. It's over here," Bella pointed toward the nursing room. Leah followed her in and when Bella pulled out the attachments and lifted her shirt, Leah left the room.

"Oh hell no," were the words Bella heard last out of her mouth. Bella shrugged and sat back in the rocker, letting the machine do its job. She glanced down at the little bottles and saw she was filling up the bottles. Joyfully, she turned the machine off and added two new bottles.

She came back to the pod with 4 full bottles of milk. The nurse congratulated her on it and Bella put them in Joseph's bin in the fridge. He still couldn't take a bottle by mouth. But he did have a feeding tube and they were using her milk to feed him. She was amazed that her body could provide the nourishment her son needed.

Glancing around, Bella didn't see Leah anywhere. The hairs on her arms stood straight and she felt goosebumps cover her body.

"I'll be right back," she told the nurse, stepping out into the hall. She was nervous about leaving the locked unit, but thought she would just peek around the hall a little.

When she passed a door, it opened and she panicked as ice cold hands grabbed her. A frozen hand was over her mouth, so she couldn't make any noise. Fighting as hard as she could, she tried to get away. The marble arms just closed tighter around her.

"Love, please settle down, it's me. You'll hurt yourself."

She squirmed even harder trying to get free.

"Stop, now, Bella," he told her coldly. Fear struck in her heart so she did as he said. She knew he could crush her. "Now, you will walk with me calmly or I will make sure the ones watching the dog kill him. Do you understand, Love?"

"Mmm. Hmm," she answered through the hand over her mouth. He slowly let go, testing to see if she would misbehave.

"Good. Now, follow me and remember what I said." Edward led her down a hall and a hidden stairwell. Bella kept her head up and her eyes moving, analyzing everything to try to make an escape. She knew this was bad.

They walked out what was surely some kind of employee door as she could see the loading docks. Carrie, Joseph's first nurse, was walking by.

"You'd better be believable, Bella," he warned.

"Mrs. Black, hi!" she greeted her, looking warily at Edward. "How are you doing? How's Joseph? I haven't been back in his pod this week."

Bella tried to take a calming breath. "Oh, he's doing okay. Waiting on the doctor to decide if he needs heart surgery."

The nurse's eyes kept darting to Edward and back to Bella. "This is my brother, Edward. He was in town on business and wanted to see my son before he left. This is his black car," she gestured toward a car with darkly tinted windows. "He's leaving now."

Bella tried to give the nurse some clues so that Jacob would know what happened to her. The black car was waiting at the bottom of the stairs and Edward pulled Bella into the backseat with him.

"Drive, before the dog figures out where we are!" he barked out. The car took off from its parking spot and whipped into traffic.

"Where are the others?" Bella asked.

"What others?" Edward asked her, looking at her innocently. "Oh, you thought I really had other vampires waiting to attack your husband? No, it's just us and Jane, here. She couldn't hurt a flea." He laughed a sinister laugh.

Bella was freaking out inside. She didn't know what to do or how to get a hold of Jacob. She needed him to come save her. She couldn't die now, not after just having a baby. Curling up in a ball on the seat, Bella started to cry quietly. Her bag had been on the floor by Joseph's bed. She planned on going right back, so now she was without her cell phone or any identification.

They pulled into a private airfield and Bella watched as Edward arranged a plane for them. Her eyes continued to dart around trying to find some way to escape or leave information for Jacob.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked Jane, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Jane wasn't fooled though. She scoffed. "We are going back to Italy. Master Aro has demanded that Edward bring you to him."

Bella's heart beat doubled and Jane simply laughed at her fear. Edward returned to the car, having secured a small jet to take them to Seattle for the international flight. Bella silently cheered knowing that without identification, she wouldn't be able to get on a flight out of the country. As if he could read her mind, Edward pulled a passport out of a bag.

"Don't worry, Love. I have everything you need, right here."

Feeling even worse than before, she sat back and tried to keep positive. Once they had boarded the Seattle flight to New York, Bella noticed that her breasts were feeling very full. She asked Edward what time it was, and she realized it had been 4 hours since she pumped. She usually pumped every 3 to get herself ready for regular feedings. Staring out the window into the blue sky, Bella thought about her son and what would happen without her milk. Tears streamed down her face.

Edward started sniffing the air. At first, Bella ignored him, but when he leaned closer to her, she could no longer pretend he wasn't there.

"Bella, what is that awful smell?" he asked, turning his face, trying to pinpoint the odor.

Glancing down, Bella saw that she had two quarter-sized circles on her shirt.

"It's my milk, Edward. I needed to pump the milk an hour ago and didn't. It's going to come out whether I want it to or not," she warned him.

"Ugh. That's disgusting. What can you do about it?" He looked down at her with a look of disdain.

"The only thing I can do is get the milk out, Edward," she snapped at him, completely pissed off. She turned away from him, her back to him, and stared out the window, hoping and praying that Jacob would be able to help her. She also prayed for little Joseph, the wonderful little son she was leaving behind.

Meanwhile, Jacob was frantically searching for Bella. Quite by accident, he ran into Carrie in the hall.

"Oh, Mr. Black! I just met your brother-in-law with your wife a little while ago downstairs."

"My brother-in-law?" he asked.

"Yes, she said his name was Edward," his heart stopped at this news. No! Edward had gotten her.

"That is not her brother. Tell me everything you can remember," he begged her, listening to each detail, relieved that Bella had given him something to work with.

Jacob had his pack mates meet up with him at the hotel so they could figure out what to do. Someone had to stay with Joseph, but Jacob couldn't stand the idea of leaving the search for Bella to someone else. There had to be some way to do this.

"I'll stay here, Jake," Leah volunteered. "I promise I will take good care of him and I don't need as much sleep as somebody else. I can smell any vamps coming."

Unsure, Jacob looked hard at her face. She didn't reveal anything that made him think she was being dishonest. Stonily, he nodded his head. Then he turned and started discussing what to do next. They all agreed he needed to call Rosalie.

"Rosalie, it's Jacob. Edward has just taken Bella from the hospital," he told her, his voice low, trying to contain the tears.

"That fucking bastard!" she screamed on the other end. "We've got to go Jacob. We've got to find Carlisle and Esme. Alice? Alice?"

Jacob listened but there was no response from Alice.

"Where the hell did she go?" Rosalie wondered. "Jacob, let me call you back. Jasper just walked in." She clicked the phone off, not giving Jacob a chance to say anything.

He sat staring at the phone, willing it to ring and give him good information about his wife. The phone only rang half of a ring before he answered.

"Tell me good news, Rosalie."

"If you want to call it good news, I, at least, know where they're going. Hope you guys can get a passport because we're going to Italy. Oh, and most of my family has gone insane!"

"Please tell me what that means, Rose. I'm really upset here!" Jacob growled out.

"Alice finally saw Bella and ran out of here squealing with excitement. Luckily, Jasper heard her blabbering on about meeting up with them in Volterra. Esme and Carlisle are still MIA and my so-called brother has kidnapped a mother!"

"Where do we meet?" Jacob asked, all business.

"Seattle. As soon as possible."

Jacob and the other wolves thrashed through the Olympic Forest at top speeds. Their thoughts were once again silent as they followed their leader back to La Push. If they were to go to Italy, they would need documentation and clothing. It didn't take them long to grab what they needed. Jacob hoped Rosalie would be able to do something about the lack of passports.

They all hopped into Paul's truck. Jacob yelled out in frustration. "This will take too long! We need to run!" They jumped back out and dashed into the forest. Quickly they changed and stowed their loose things into the backpacks and duffle bags they'd packed. Somehow they managed to secure it to each other's bodies.

"I feel like a pack mule!" Xander laughed mentally. The guys started to laugh, but Jacob closed all other thoughts out. He led them through the night to their destination-SEA-TAC. Rosalie didn't waste time finding them in the airport. She'd already secured a private charter to get them to New York, where they'd take a commercial jet to Italy. Since she didn't know who was flying, she couldn't book them out of Seattle.

It seemed like a week had passed, but in reality it was less than 24 hours before they touched down in Italy. Two SUVs had been reserved for them and they piled in them, Rosalie in the first vehicle barking out directions. Emmett sat in the backseat, not saying a word.

When the pulled up outside of Volterra, Rosalie spoke to Jacob about what they were getting ready to walk into. He prayed Bella would still be alive and unharmed. He thought of his 3 children back home and what would happen to them if he didn't survive.

The macabre thoughts had to be pushed from the forefront of his mind. His focus was solely on getting Bella and getting the hell out of Dodge!

Meanwhile, Bella was terrified. At first, she had been very relieved to see Carlisle and Esme. The father-like figure would help her escape, she was certain of it.

"Edward! I knew you could do it! I told Aro you would bring Bella back here. He was worried that you were too wishy-washy after the experiments we've been conducting. But I knew you would bring her back. You haven't failed me yet, have you?" Carlisle smiled, Edward stared frozen and Bella sucked in a cry, as she was horrified.

"Carlisle, what do you mean? You've been behind the shipments?" Edward asked, looking confused. Bella tried to shrink into herself, hoping she would be invisible.

"My experiments have required a lot of volunteers, and you've done so well at finding beautiful young women. I'd think that you would have recognized a few of them by now. But sadly, many of them didn't survive."

Trying hard to be silent, Bella choked back the vomit in her throat. Carlisle was behind some kind of human experimenting? Could it be?

**What have you done to thank a teacher this week for Teacher Appreciation Week? ;)**

**Letters of thanks are so meaningful, but chocolate is tasty. **


	30. Surprise Help

Chapter 30  
Rated M

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This chapter is rated MA. It may contain offensive material. Please don't read if you are easily offended.**

"Oh, Edward," Carlisle chuckled, evilly. "All this time, I worried that I wouldn't be able to keep all of this from you. It seems that I did well. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I have plans for Bella. I've been waiting for her."

Carlisle stepped closer to Bella's quivering body, attempting to hide herself behind Edward's body. Edward turned trying to block Bella.

"That'll never do. Jane, can you please deal with Edward?" Carlisle watched as Jane paralyzed Edward again and he casually grabbed Bella. He held her out in front of him, making sure that none of the disgusting milk got on his clothes. There would be no way to get the smell off for a while.

Bella started screaming at the top of her lungs. She knew it was a futile attempt but she would do whatever she could to live for Jacob and Joseph. Her voice cracked when Carlisle reached his destination. It was a heavy metal door, like that of a vault at a bank. It creaked and popped as it opened and Carlisle entered the room.

Alice was the first to bounce into the room and greet Bella. "Bella! I missed you so much! How are you?" She hugged her painfully hard.

"Ugh, what did you get all over my silk blouse? You need a shower. You really stink," Alice noted, pulling Bella's hand along behind her. Bella glanced around looking for a shower, but realized she was in some kind of laboratory. Alice grabbed a triangle shaped handle and cold water dumped down Bella's body. She screamed from the shock of it.

"That's really cold! Oh my god! Help me!" Bella tried to run out of the shower, but she was met by Carlisle or Alice whichever way she went.

"Jasper! Guard her, I've got to get her out of those clothes and wash her. The smell of sour milk and dog is too much!" Alice commanded. Jasper stepped out of a doorway and took Alice's spot.

Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest, attempting to protect herself from Alice. It didn't help though and Alice quickly tore the clothes off. Bella was shivering and naked in front of Carlisle, Alice and Jasper. She tried to cover herself with her arms. Jasper handed Alice a bottle and Alice squeezed a concoction into her hand. She briskly rubbed the soap all over Bella's freezing body.

She screamed out a stream of profanities when Alice washed her. The vampire didn't leave one area of her skin untouched and Bella was left feeling violated. The tears soaked her face as she cried, not able to stop what was happening, praying that Jacob was able to somehow stop anything else from happening.

Once Bella was washed and forcibly dried, Alice dragged her into a bedroom. Bella was astonished that the other woman didn't seem to notice that Bella was completely unhappy. Alice babbled on about how they were going to have such fun together and she would be a beautiful vampire.

An outfit was left out on the bed for her to put on and Alice chirped about how much Edward was going to love it as she stepped out and locked the deadbolt on the bedroom door. Bella looked down at the clothes and continued to cry. She'd just had a baby and was left with a thong and lacy see-through bra. Surely, they could all smell the bloody discharge she was having, right? How in the hell could she wear a thong? Putting the bra on, Bella growled in frustration. It would've fit her before but there was no way her milk-filled breasts would fit in the cups. Discarding the underwear, Bella walked around the room hoping to find anything else to wear. Fortunately, she found a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She put those on and hoped that she'd be able to talk some sense into someone.

Her heart raced as soon as she heard the door unlock. She wasn't sure who it would be and what they had in store for her. This was the worst possible outcome almost. When the door opened, it was Alice. She was annoyed with Bella's choice in clothing.

"I leave you with beautiful haute couture clothing that I picked out from French designers and you put on that crappy pair of pants and t-shirt. What is the matter with you, Bella? Do you do this only to make me angry?" Alice flashed to Bella's side and started to rip the pants down her legs. She stopped when she saw the bloody mess in the pants.

"Are you menstruating right now, Bella?" she gasped, stepping back and obviously holding her breath.

"Alice, I had a baby! You bleed for weeks after having a baby while your uterus goes back to normal!" Bella shrieked hysterically at her, both furious at her so-called friend and terrified for her life. "I have mammary glands that are producing milk to keep my son alive. My tiny infant son who was born early and depends on my milk to keep him alive! Alice, have you lost your mind? What is going on with you? I need a bra. A real bra with cotton cups and a breast pump to express the milk, a box of maxi pads-the super overnight extra thick kind and a real pair of underpants!"

"Bella, none of that is attractive! How am I supposed to make you beautiful with that stuff?" she balked, her face obvious with distaste.

"Attractive? Do you really think I give two shits about being attractive when I'm stuck here away from my husband and my son?"

"You are not married. Your marriage to that dog does not count. He was married before. Edward doesn't believe in divorce, so the way he sees it, Jacob Black is still married and you are his whore. He will not allow you to be a whore anymore, Bella," Alice responded matter-of-factly, as if she stated the sky were blue and the grass were green.

Bella was mortified. Her brain was unable to come up with a response to the crazy vampire. Bella slowly leaned down and pulled the pants up, hoping to not cause a wave of blood scented air toward Alice. "Please, Alice, go get me the things I need. I thought you were my best friend?" It seemed that Bella was going to have to think smart to possibly come out of this alive.

"Alice, can you go get Bella the things she needs?" Edward called out gently from the door. "I want her to be comfortable, okay?"

"Sure, Edward. It might take me a little while to find what she needs. Vampires don't have periods."

Edward slowly came into the room and made his way toward Bella. Her eyes were on the floor and all she could think about was her impending death. She silently cried as she thought of the baby that would never see his mother. She hoped that Danni would tell him all about her. She prayed that the legends were wrong about imprints and their wolves dying together. Joseph would need a father.

"Are you okay, love?" Edward asked her.

"No. No, I'm not," she answered, sinking down into an upholstered chair. "This isn't how things were supposed to go. Edward, what was Carlisle talking about with the shipments and you doing it? What have you been doing in New York?"

Edward turned away from her and he slumped his shoulders. "I didn't know what they were doing. I had no idea that Carlisle was behind all of this. He's been conducting experiments on humans, trying to change their DNA or inject them with venom to see what happens."

His breath caught in his throat, and Bella stared at him, watching his shoulders shudder. When he turned and looked at her, she was sure if he could cry, he would be sobbing.

"They subjected me to the most horrifying experiments. I can't believe I'm still alive-if that's what I am. I am a monster, a horrific being. I wish you had never met me. Please, leave here with me now. Let me save you," he looked at her and stared deeply into her eyes. His heart broke as he realized she was no longer his. That she fully belonged to another. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to be human. So much of his recent years had been to fulfill Aro's wishes, he didn't even desire to live anymore. He'd wanted to take Bella and travel the world with her. He had been so sure her locked mind was a safe haven for their future.

"What Carlisle wants is sick. He wants to understand how you're immune to me. He wants to know if you are immune to other vampire powers. He's going to allow them to try their gifts on you. Now that you're here and have had a child, he has even gone so far as wondering if he could sire a baby with you. I can't allow that, Bella. Please, if we're going to go, we've got to go now. Alice will be able to see it and stop us," Edward pleaded with her.

At first, Bella hesitated, wondering if she should trust Edward. In the end, she decided it was better to try to get away from one vampire than a fortress of vampires, so she stood and ran to him. He grabbed her in his arms and ran.

He tried to get her to calm her breathing as he ran through the dark halls. Every now and then, he'd stop and listen for others. Then he would run like hell again. When he burst out into the night, Bella gasped for air. She could hear voices and Edward sped up, darting through passageways and buildings.

"Are we okay?" Bella whispered, just a breath's noise to Edward's ear.

"Shh," he answered, barely into her ear as he froze. "Bella, close your eyes and don't move."

Bella stayed locked in his arms, terrified. She could feel the air rushing past her and realized he had jumped from somewhere. It took all her self-control to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. They landed with barely a jostle and Edward began running again.

"They're here. Damn it," he cursed.

"Who? Who's here, Edward?" Bella asked, glancing around into the night, but completely blind in the dark.

"Edward! What are you doing?" Rosalie shrieked. "Let her go. Let her go this minute!"

"Rosalie. What are you doing here? Why did you bring them?" he sneered toward the pack. Jacob growled and Bella cried out for him.

Edward held her closer to his body. "You don't understand, Rose. Carlisle is behind all of this. He will get her. He won't let her go. If I give her back, they will not be protected. He will take her again. She is not safe."

"It's not your job to protect her, Edward. It's Jacob and the pack's job," Emmett spoke up. "Be sensible. I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

"We need to get out of here. We all need to go. When Bella is safe, I will let her go." Then Edward dashed off into the night, the others following him, leaving the vehicles behind. Edward took them to a nearby town so that they could try to help Bella with all of the things she needed. Thankfully, the wolves were there so Alice couldn't see any of the decisions they were making.

"She needs food, clothes, some female things, Rosalie. Surely, you can remember all of this," Edward told her as he walked up to the edge of the trees. The wolves circled closely behind him. Bella looked imploringly at Jacob. He walked up close behind Edward and brushed his hand down her hair.

"Are you okay, honey?" he muttered softly. It took every ounce of willpower not to rip her from the vampire's arms and run like hell.

"Jacob Black, as much as you hate the idea, you need me right now. I'm sorry. I am sorry for everything. I will make sure that we get her back to the baby safely. But, right now, I can't put her down. I will end you if you so much as try to take her from me," he warned the wolf.

"Just so we're clear, **you** are outnumbered. If you do anything against her wishes, we will end you. Once we're on Quileute soil, _my pack_ will protect her."

"You have no idea what we are facing, Jake. Please, let's not fight right now. I really need to pump. I don't want to lose my milk for Joseph," Bella cried. She could see the red plus sign indicating the hospital in the city. "Who's going to go?"

"I'll do it," Xander said. "What am I getting?"

Bella blushed red at having to explain what she needed to the wolves. Rosalie grew impatient. "I'll go with you. You can cover me while I get what she needs."

"Jake, I need some clothes, especially some you know, granny panties," she mumbled, burying her face in Edward's chest, even though it felt all wrong.

"I'm on it," Embry answered and ran off into the city.

It didn't take nearly as long for the three to return as it felt with the intense stand-off. Edward knew the moment he put Bella down, his life was in danger. He had to see that she was safe. Once Xander, Rosalie and Embry returned, Edward announced they needed to leave the city as soon as possible and find cover.

Bella insisted she needed an electrical outlet and a bathroom. They walked until they found a vacant apartment and broke in the back door. It was tense being in close quarters with 3 vampires and the wolves. Jacob was still wary of them even though he knew Rosalie was on their side.

Edward held Bella in front of the bathroom door. He was about to put her down so she could go inside. "Jacob, I know that you despise me. I beg you not to kill me. I need to tell you stuff. After this is all over, I'll beg you to end my life."

Jacob nodded. "For now, I'll grant you a reprieve. I told you that. I gave you my word."

Edward listened to his thoughts and then carefully set Bella on her feet. He gently turned her toward him, "Bella, I am truly sorry for everything. I mean to set this right."

Then he turned and went to the kitchen, where everyone else was sitting and chatting. He listened as Jacob and Bella whispered in the bathroom. Jacob wanted to make sure that Bella was unharmed and asked if she felt they could trust Edward. He didn't hear an answer but he heard a cell phone beeping as buttons were pressed.

Edward wanted desperately to know what she was telling him with his phone, but at that moment Emmett yelled at him.

"Edward, what the hell is going on with you? Tell us what happened with Carlisle. He's in Volterra? We thought he was missing."

"No, sadly. He is in Volterra and even though he pretends to not be part of the Volturi, he is. He is much more powerful than he ever led on. I'll wait until Jacob comes back before telling you guys everything."

"I'm back, so let's get to it," Jacob said, as he grabbed a chair and sat staring at Edward with his full attention. Edward tried desperately to listen to the thoughts of the wolves, but they were still silent.

"Well, first of all, in a show of faith, I want you to know that since you and Bella have," he cleared his throat, "sealed the imprint, I can no longer hear the thoughts of the pack."

The pack members all looked at each other, nodding. He confirmed what they already suspected.

Jacob was the one to speak, "We assumed after we ran into you in the woods and you didn't respond to my thoughts."

He gave a look of disbelief. "You saw me in the woods and didn't attack?"

"You were leaving and didn't seem to have done anything. I wasn't going to put my pack in danger."

Edward divulged everything that had happened. He shared his part in the kidnappings, how he was tortured, how he discovered Carlisle's experiments and last Carlisle's plans for Bella. Jacob growled.

"Jacob, you cannot go back to Washington until Carlisle has been dealt with. If you leave, he will just follow you. This time it was me that got Bella, but I don't want her to die. Any other vampires that come for her, will likely kill her. If they don't, Carlisle will. He plans to use her blood, impregnate her, and then change her."

Banging his fists on the table, Jacob stood up and paced the room. Bella came running out, dressed in fresh jeans and a sweater. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and her eyes were wide.

"Jake?" she called out. When she saw him, she ran and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What's wrong?"

Jacob leaned down and captured her lips. "I knew we couldn't trust them."

"You can trust me, Jacob," Rosalie reassured, standing up. She looked around the room and looked each wolf in the eye, giving a silent promise. "I know it doesn't make sense to you. My life was stolen from me. I don't want that to happen to another woman."

Quickly, she turned and looked at Edward. "What you have done is despicable. You are worse than a monster for letting them kill those women and to use your gift to find them. I should burn you right here. But I'll let you use that gift for something good before I do."

With that, Rosalie and Emmett walked outside claiming they wanted to patrol the area and make sure everyone was safe.

Silently the room cleared out and Jacob sat down, pulling Bella into his lap. He was so glad she was okay. He took his phone out and showed her the pictures of Joseph he had taken and the ones that Leah had sent since they left. Bella cried thinking about the 2 days of her son's life that she had missed.

"Bells, we can't go home yet. We have to take care of this threat first. I want to do everything we can to go home and never worry about this again."

She nodded and leaned forward to kiss her husband. Thankfully, Edward had a change of heart. Bella thought about the message that she showed Jacob in the bathroom. She wasn't sure if they could trust Edward. Part of her believed that he was remorseful, but the other part of her believed that if he had the chance, he would take her and run.


	31. Evil Burns

Chapter 31

**Rated M for a lot of reasons. This story is titled Twisted for a reason. Just a warning.**

In the apartment, Bella and Jacob sat together in the bedroom. Rosalie had stolen probably the best breast pump in the hospital. Bella sat with the little bottles hooked up, trying to relax and express the milk. She was so full it was painful. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about all the milk that was being wasted instead of nourishing her baby.

Jacob didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say to her in that moment. He was sad, furious and terrified all at once. At least he knew that Joseph was in good hands at the hospital. The wolves were protecting Danni and the kids as well at their house. Danni had been shocked when Jacob talked to her about everything that was going on. His wolf was not happy with the proximity of the vampires.

Bella cried as she poured the milk down the drain in the bathroom. She knew that as long as she kept her supply up, she would be able to feed Joseph when she had him back in her arms. It was difficult to remain positive after what had happened with Alice and Carlisle. Clearly, Alice had completely lost her mind. It was beyond terrifying how evil Carlisle really was.

Experimenting on people! Experimenting on Edward to the point that he would cry if he could.

Once Bella had cleaned herself up, dressed and pumped, Jacob announced they needed to move locations. Everyone agreed and prepared to move on. Jacob held Bella in his arms as they ran off into the night.

Edward tried and tried to read Jacob's thoughts. It continued to be silence. It was frustrating to someone that was used to doing it, but for the first time, Edward found it peaceful. To be in the presence of a group and not hear their constant thought stream was a relief. His vast vampire mind was able to focus on the plan to save Bella.

As they ran, Edward led them toward an empty house. Rosalie gave the house a quick lap to make sure there were no other scents and that Edward wasn't leading them into a trap. After she deemed it clear, Xander ran a lap as well. When he said it was clear, then Jacob went in the house with the others.

They all spread out into various rooms before meeting back in a family room that had several large couches. Emmett cheered when he found the television remote and turned it on. He flipped through the channels at an inhuman speed, trying to find something to watch.

"So what's the plan?" Jacob spoke to Edward.

"I think we need to set up Alice and Carlisle. Make them think I'm willing to hand her over in exchange for my freedom. Then you guys can surprise them and take them out."

"That sounds entirely too easy. Besides, Alice has to know we're in town, right? She can smell us a mile away. I know we can pick up your stink," Jacob snarked back.

"Alice doesn't know who is here. Of course, if she smelled your particular odor, she would think it's you. I could tell her it's only you," Edward shrugged, trying to work the plan out.

"We aren't going to their place. We will not agree to that. I don't want their backup freak shows coming to help," Jacob responded.

"I agree. That is not good."

The plan was set into motion. Edward would call Alice and Carlisle in the morning to make the arrangement. Edward wanted to make sure that the humans had time to eat and rest.

After they all went to bed, Edward paced the family room floor.

"You're going to wear a path on the floor," Rosalie spat. "Just sit down and stop it."

"I can't," he admitted. "You're hearing this too, aren't you?"

Rosalie nodded. It was terrible for her to hear Bella relay the events of Volterra to Jacob. Listening to how Alice had violated her and how she felt during that horrible shower. To add insult to injury, Alice walking in and violently removing Bella's pants made things even worse.

Rosalie shook with fury. It made her relive the memories of the last day of her human life. It was a moment in time that she wanted to forget but couldn't. Edward could feel her anger and grief.

"I will personally rip her hands from her body before I rip her head from her neck," she vowed.

"I'm going out for a walk," Edward stated.

Emmett stood and blocked his exit. "No, I don't think so."

Edward read the doubt in Emmett's mind. "Would you like to go with me, then?"

Emmett glanced toward Rosalie. Neither were sure if Edward was to be trusted.

"You both know I could have run with her. I didn't. You can trust me."

Rosalie nodded to Emmett. He walked out the door behind Edward. During the night, they walked around the countryside looking out for other vampires and danger. Nearing dawn they returned to the house with food for breakfast. They put the food on the counter and sat watching the Italian news. There was an hour and a half before Edward was to call Carlisle and set the plan in motion.

The tension in the kitchen was quite high. Usually the pack consumed a lot of food but not this time. They ate only to give their wolves energy to protect. Bella picked at a pastry. She wasn't hungry at all, her mind in many other places.

Edward stepped outside to make the phone call. Jacob demanded that he stay within earshot so that they knew the call was legit. He didn't want to walk into a trap Edward set up.

Once he was finished, he came back in the house and nodded. "One hour we'll meet them. We have to get going now so that the wolves can get in place. Emmett and Rosalie, you will have to stay far enough away that they will not know you're there. Or else, they will know something is up. They think Jacob is my prisoner and that he's only cooperating in hopes of saving Bella's life."

Solemnly, they all filed out of the house, following Edward again. The wolves were able to find tree cover and phase. Jacob was relieved as he could silently communicate with the other wolves. They were just as nervous as he was. Their enhanced senses were focused on every sound, scent and movement around them. No one wanted to be caught off guard. Bella was being carried by Emmett. It rankled the wolf, but strategically Jacob wanted to be able to take out a threat without worrying about hurting Bella.

Suddenly, Edward stopped. He gestured to the wolves. Apparently, the vamps had arrived early as well. They brought their own company. Edward squatted down and began scratching furiously in the dirt.

He wrote, "Look out. Many gifted vampires here. Their gifts affect your mind. Make you think things are there that are not. Protect Bella-no matter what."

We all nodded. He stood and walked out of the trees.

"Carlisle? I thought we agreed that you would not bring anyone else?"

Carlisle laughed. "I didn't agree. That's just what you asked, Edward. Tell those foul creatures you have with you to come on out. Rosalie, Emmett, you come out too."

Everyone stepped out from the woods. "Oohh, ho, ho, ho! Look at what we have here! Edward, you have done a mighty fine job!"

The wolves snarled as Rosalie screamed at Edward. Edward jumped back away from both sides, afraid the wolves would kill first and knowing that Carlisle would.

"I did NOT bring them to you! I came to help Bella that is all!" Edward yelled over the din.

"You disgust me, Carlisle, and to think I looked up to you. I thought of you like a father and I followed in your ways," Edward spat.

"You followed in my ways, that is for sure," Carlisle smiled. "Now give me Bella and her mate. I'll let the rest of you go if you do so without a fight."

"No he won't!" Rosalie screamed. "You are despicable, Carlisle." She charged toward him but was struck down by Jane, who stood laughing as Rosalie thrashed in pain. Emmett ran full speed toward Jane, who was stopped by a huge vampire. It didn't take long before a huge fight ensued. Wolves attacked vampires. Rosalie, Emmett and Edward all fought to keep them away from Bella, who laid on the ground in a ball, terrified.

Bella focused on Jacob and the tie she felt to him. As long as he was safe, she was okay. If he were injured, she didn't know what would happen.

Surprisingly, the wolves quickly took advantage in the fight. They had already killed most of the vampire guard, leaving Alice, Carlisle and several defenders. Rosalie was screaming at Alice about touching people and keeping her hands to herself. She reached out and ripped them from her body. This caused Alice to scream so loud that Bella cupped her hands over her ears, trying to protect her hearing.

"What do you think you're doing, Rose? Give me back my hands, right now!"

"What's the matter? Can't you see that I won't?" Rosalie laughed maniacally as tossed the hands into a fire that Edward had just lit.

"Noo!" Alice flew at Rosalie, but Jacob ripped her off and shook her, dropping her on the ground. She was quick but without the benefit of anticipating his next move, he was unmatched. Quickly, he disassembled her body and Rose chucked the pieces in the fire.

This infuriated Carlisle, who dove straight for Jacob. Bella buckled under the pain when Jacob was hurt. Edward noticed that she was left unguarded and ran over and grabbed her running off into the night. The wolves were tied up helping Jacob and didn't notice. Once all of the vampires were dead, except Rosalie and Emmett, they all turned to check on Bella.

Jacob and the pack howled into the night as soon as they noticed she was gone. In the pack mind, they all cursed Edward. They spiraled out from the grounds and followed the only trace of Edward's scent. It was the path they took in. Focused like a laser, Jacob raced back to the house his nose in the air and his ears perked, listening carefully. He pushed out against his bond to Bella and felt her. She didn't seem to be injured but she was panicked.

When they burst into the house, Jacob snarled at Edward, who was sitting on the couch, looking unperturbed. He pointed to the bedroom and Jacob stormed in to find that Bella was curled up on the bed. She felt him enter the room and jumped up on the bed and then into his open arms.

"Oh my god, I thought you were gone. I thought he took you and ran," Jacob kissed her face and neck, breathing in her scent, though it was tainted with the stench of vampire.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. Are you okay?" she asked, trying to check Jacob for injuries. She could see scratches on his skin but they didn't look fresh, so she knew he was healing.

"I think I am. I need to go take care of something," he said, setting her down, and holding her hand instead.

"Edward, what the hell? Why did you run off?" Jacob asked. He pointed to a spot close to the door where he wanted Bella to wait as he walked closer to the vampire.

"Jacob, I wasn't sure if Carlisle was going to try to take Bella. I brought her here. Where you could easily find me! I wasn't going to take her. If I was, I would be long gone!" Edward said, quickly realizing his error as the pack crept in closer to him.

"You've been killing women for years. Someone has to pay for that," Jacob warned lowly.

"It was Carlisle! He was behind it. Please, I've paid for my sins. You have no idea what kind of laboratory he had set up in the place. It was awful. Absolutely awful. I will not interfere in your lives anymore. Please, spare mine," Edward begged.

"Why should we? Other than you were tortured? What about all those women who were assaulted? Raped? Changed against their will?" Rosalie said, getting in Edward's face. If she could have spit, she would have.

"Look, maybe I have a solution. Maybe you, me and Emmett could go back to Volterra and try to set things right?"

"I don't think so, Edward," Emmett spoke up. "Sorry, but no one in this room trusts you anymore."

Edward looked around the room and tried to walk around, but he didn't have any room to move. Jacob, Rosalie and Emmett were in the center of the circle and the rest of the wolves surrounded them. Edward wasn't used to having a disadvantage in a room.

"Let's go outside for this. Bella doesn't need to witness this," Edward stated evenly.

They surrounded him as they exited the house. Paul stayed behind with Bella at Jacob's command. He turned the TV on and turned up the volume. Bella slowly made her way over to the couch and sat beside him. It was only a few seconds later, that he jumped up and phased in the middle of the family room, growling loudly. Bella shrank back afraid to get in his way. The window from the other side of the house crashed in and Edward ran frantically toward Bella.

Paul was fierce though. He dodged and shoved Edward at every chance. It took only a minute for Jacob to realize what Edward had done and he came in the house and grabbed Bella from the fray. He left his pack to destroy Edward and ran with Bella. He would have to find a place to hide until they could go back for their bags. They couldn't travel home without their ID's, passports, and money.

Jacob sat on a bench in a little park. He was far enough away that Bella couldn't hear or see anything but he was close enough to be sure that sneaky bastard burned. He was angry with himself because he nearly let him get away by trusting him. It was all a rouse so that Edward could snatch Bella and run.

Within 15 minutes, Paul jogged over to the park and got them. He had everything they needed in his hands. He didn't want Bella back in the house.

"Let's get out of here and go home," Jake said.

"No, let's go see our son," Bella replied. She stood but wobbled on her feet. Exhaustion was taking over so Jake grabbed her and carried her. It wasn't going to be easy to get back to the airport from the little Italian town they were stranded in.

"I got us a ride," Rosalie called with a smile. She stood beside a couple of SUV's. They were uncommon for Europe but somehow she found 3 vehicles to take them back to the airport. Jacob didn't ask how she came to acquire them. He didn't really care. All he wanted was to return to Washington and see his children.

They sat silently as the convoy headed to the airport. Jacob had his arm around Bella as he watched out the window. He was truly thankful that everyone was okay. He wished that Bella hadn't had to go through what she did, but they were both aware it could have been a lot worse. Vampires were sick creatures.

Somehow, Rosalie and Emmett didn't seem so evil and when they got their tickets back to the U.S. paid for, courtesy of Rosalie, they parted ways. Emmett slipped Jacob his number in case anything ever came up. They promised to help if they could. Jacob simply nodded and took the number. He wanted to throw it away, he really did. But the dad in him knew that if the safety of his children was in play again, he'd call them. So he slipped it into his wallet and kept it, just in case.

A group of large, well-built men boarding an aircraft drew a bit of attention in the airport. Xander posed as he walked, drawing on the attention he was getting. Bella laughed and shoved him in the back, telling him to get over himself. She reminded him that both his body and his ego needed to fit on the plane. Just as they were getting on, a male flight attendant greeted them. He winked at Xander as he walked passed. Bella burst out in laughter as she noticed the wolf lose his balance momentarily as he tried to give the man a wide berth.

They filled the first class section of the aircraft, a commercial flight their quickest route home. Bella leaned on Jake's arm as she waited for the door to close and the plane to push back from the jet way. Before the plane took off, she was sound asleep. She could not wait to get back home to Joseph. Jacob leaned his head against hers and dozed lightly. He wasn't sure when he would be able to sleep soundly again. It wouldn't be easy.

His first priority was to call and check up on the kids and then get Joey home to La Push.

**Just about done with this one. I really struggled with this chapter for a long while. I think I'm okay at the drama, not so much at the action. Thanks for reading.**


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